Grants Up To $50k For Those Born To Lead

Andrew Downs, renowned Industry Leader, 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year, former President of the Ai Group in SA & former Honorary ILF Board Member

South Australia’s Industry Leaders Fund (ILF) has opened the 2013 call for grant applications from aspiring business leaders preparing to take South Australia into an economically healthy and wealthy future.

Those ‘born to lead’ could receive a grant of up to $50,000 in the ILF’s fourth call for applications, which closes on Friday May 31, 2013. The grants enable applicants to gain knowledge or experience that allows them to achieve their potential, and to achieve it more quickly than otherwise might have been possible.

In 2012, grants totalling $100,000 were awarded to nine of South Australia’s aspiring business leaders to help them realise their professional potential in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, mining, winemaking, confectionery and IT.

Training opportunities encompassed study at the prestigious Harvard Business School in Boston, USA, Mt Eliza Melbourne Business School, UniSA and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Since 2010, the ILF has provided grants to 19 recipients, whose industries have ranged from shipbuilding and aeronautical engineering to winery management, electronics, and mining.

ILF CEO Geoff Vogt said it is the organisation’s intention that grant recipients become industry leaders in the state who will go on to generate wealth-creating, world-competitive, value-adding opportunities, and in turn, work towards creating and re-establishing a head office mentality in South Australia.

“The ILF is recognised by business leaders as the principal fund in its field. This can be attributed to the unique nature of the program, the integrity of the application process and the high calibre of the grant recipients”, he said.

The grants are intended to support individuals who can demonstrate:

•  Leadership potential, interest and abilities through a history of roles undertaken at work and/or in the broader community
• Interest in sharing the benefit of their talents, knowledge and achievements with the industry in which they work and the community in which they live.

“We don’t restrict the type of training, experience opportunity, or location, for which funding might be sought,” said Mr Vogt. “There are also no restrictions on the age, racial background, creed, disability or gender of applicants, however, preference will be given to those applicants who are Australian Citizens and those who are residents of South Australia”.

However, the ILF intends to provide equitable support to applicants from all wealth-creating business sectors.

“Applicants may work in an organisation that is either trade exposed and does not necessarily have to be located in South Australia, or an organisation that has its head office here and provides services outside of South Australia”, Mr Vogt said.

“I also strongly encourage employers to support their talented employees to apply for an ILF grant, which can obviously provide a significant benefit to an employer’s training structure”.

Potential applicants seeking more information should access: www.industryleaders.com.au or contact CEO Geoff Vogt via the website, by email at [email protected] or by phone on 8394 0000.