Who succeeds in Indigenous employment?
13 January 2012
Article by Brocap Admin
A new study commissioned by GenerationOne; Case Studies of Success highlights six Australian employers who are pioneering developments in Indigenous Employment. The Case Studies of Success shares the supportive actions Crown Melbourne Limited, Burswood Entertainment Complex, Karen Sheldon Catering, ISS Australia, Skill360 Australia and Woolworths are taking to transition Indigenous Australians from unemployment into jobs.
“The GenerationOne Walk in My Shoes report clearly showed that people want to see a job at the end of training. The programs run by these six organisations are giving job seekers that clear path to employment,” said GenerationOne spokesperson, Tania Major.
Employer directed training is essential to breaking the “training for training sake” trap that can lead to further disempowerment of marginalised Australians. In the previously released Employer Yarns document, one employer described the on-going training process as getting candidates to “jump through hoops of hope”.
Developed with consulting support from Social Ventures Australia (SVA), the case studies give unprecedented insight into ways employers can break the cycle of Indigenous unemployment. Employer directed training, combined with pre-employment programs, mentoring and ensuring the company’s Indigenous employment program is built into the business plan, have created a climate of success in these six organisations. Further to employer directed training, the case studies have revealed pre employment training as a vital key to employing and retaining Indigenous staff.
“The pre-employment course was very essential. I wasn’t dropped in the deep end like in previous jobs,” said Dean Jones, a former participant of the ISS Indigenous Employment Program.
Now working as a mentor in the program Dean explains the importance of the ongoing support for Indigenous employees, “my role as a mentor is to support other Indigenous staff with things like family and transport and community issues that affect their work. If there is disciplinary action I attend those meetings with the person. It’s a great program. Essential. There should be more of us.”
The case study organisations have built the Indigenous Employment Programs into their business plans, and have uncharacteristically shared these plans to highlight the business opportunities for other organisations. The case studies highlight the advantages to business for supporting Indigenous Australians into meaningful work, as the business and the community benefit from having Aboriginal people working in the store.
“The community is happy to finally see some local people in the store; they are supportive. A lot of people in the community had stopped coming here; in the last year we are getting more and more, they are more comfortable here and are shopping more here; they can see that we are still here a year later,” said Janice Thaidy, employee and program participant of Big W Kempsey
SOURCE: Generation One, “Case studies of success: Skills and training for a career”, January 2012