What does an engineer bring to the table? She connects people, she inspires, and she creates a space to build students and business people’s confidence, capacity and capability.

Jillian Kilby will head two forums in Bairnsdale next Thursday, July 25, where she’s keen to help people make connections and learn, starting with a free, daytime workshop for school leavers.

“If you form a community and networks, every problem can be solved,” Ms Kilby said.

“We’re not providing a solution, we’re providing connections for all solutions.

“I think that’s pretty important, your community can do more if you’re not focusing on a specific solution.”

East Gippsland Shire’s economic development unit will host Ms Kilby’s two workshops, the second a gala dinner at the Bairnsdale Sporting and Convention Centre in the evening.

TAFE Gippsland partnership broker and local councillor, Joe Rettino, has listened to and met Ms Kilby on several occasions.

“Jillian is all about collaboration,” Mr Rettino said.

“As the chief executive officer of The Infrastructure Collaborative, she helped more than 50 New South Wales councils collaborate on road and infrastructure priorities and then gave their region one voice from a regional perspective.

“She’s inspiring and worth listening to.”

Ms Kilby is what could be referred to as an energetic overachiever with a list of accolades that includes the 2018 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, the 2010 Australian Young Professional Engineer Award and Sydney University Young Alumni of the Year Award. She also holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Policy.

She’s billed as having “the logical thinking of a civil engineer, the roll-up-your-sleeves attitude of a farmer’s daughter and an altruistic passion for driving change”.

Based at Dubbo, in New South Wales’ central west, Ms Kilby is also the founder of The Exchange, which she refers to as a ‘side hustle’, or a project on the go, a space where people come together to share ideas and inspire each other.

“Community can be self-enabled, that’s why it’s so important to share the successes and failures in Dubbo with other regions,” she said.

“We have the full spectrum of business owners, starters, scalers and stallers. We all need someone to talk to.

“No one has it all together, there’s always some doubt, and something they wish they could improve.

“There are people at home mulling over ideas at their kitchen benches, women lacking confidence about starting their own business, and those sitting on the fence with a side hustle they’ve had for years.

“They really want to move it forward but feel isolated and a lack of opportunity to start.

“The two most effective mechanisms for starters and scalers are mentoring and networking.

“People don’t want formal coaches, they want enduring relationships that can be provided for free that’s why community is so important.”

Perceptions are also a challenge.

“There are perceptions on how we see ourselves, small businesses in regional towns can feel as isolated in equal portions as one in the city,” Ms Kilby said.

“A city business owner may be in a sea of people but still feel isolated.

“The difference comes in where people have built the community, traditionally it’s the role of government or the local chamber of commerce.

“Society needs to stop waiting for government.

“Community can be formed without funding, communities are formed around shows, the CWA, pony club and at schools.

“In Dubbo we have a community of startups and small businesses and we take over redundant space and host events there.

“We connect people who are starting businesses and then after the event people stay around and learn by conversation.

“On the weekend when people have conversations they talk about the weather, their children and sport.

“It’s rare to learn about business by osmosis, we need to create space for that experience to happen.”

PICTURED: Jillian Kilby, of Dubbo, will speak about the potential of businesses in regional areas when she walks into Bairnsdale next Thursday for meetings with school leavers and the local community. Jillian is pictured at the the Dubbo Exchange Clock Tower, which she purchased as part of a “side project” to bring people together to share ideas and inspire each other. (Photo: Daily Liberal/ Belinda Soole)