Patrick McKibbin from the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce gave us an update and review of what business is up to in the Valley, both Upper and Lower Hutt. It was very refreshing to hear that there is a lot going on out there in business. As he quoted, "you don't know what's going on behind these roller doors around the Valley".
The Chamber is all about: Connecting, Networking, Collaboration, Advocating and Partnerships. Patrick has been with the Chamber for around 3 years. He is seeing some amazing innovations being developed which will hopefully mean more business and more jobs in the foreseeable future for the Valley. Upper Hutt in particular has seen big growth due to the development of the Wallaceville Estate area into a commercial business area, plus the massive development of the new film studios (Park Ave) plus the Sport Academy at Silverstream that Eastern Hutt Rotary visited last year. With a combined population of 160,000 people, the Hutt Valley's population is increasing.
Interesting statistics:
Average household income - $111,100 (Lower Hutt) $108,200 (Upper Hutt)
Mean weekly rent - $574 (Lower Hutt) $612 (Upper Hutt)
GDP per Capita - $56,301 (Lower Hutt) $29,452 (Upper Hutt)
Manufacturing is still the biggest industry in the Hutt Valley, closely followed by professional, scientific & technology. That's an interesting figure considering how much manufacturing has been lost, closed down or moved away over the years.
The Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce is very involved with 16 schools/colleges around the Valley to help assist students into training and experiencing industry and innovation as another alternative to going to University. They assist employers who offer work experience, Gateway, school visits and other skills training where needed.
The slide presentation is on the link provided. CLICK HERE
We thank Patrick for his time and presentation. He was very enthusiastic and positive about the Hutt Valley's future.