The Uluru Statement from the Heart ends with the words: “We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”
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Sherrie Nye, of Mogo Family and Cultural Healing Centre said she would like these words to be the beginning of something new across south-east NSW.
After consideration of the gaps in Aboriginal employment in our region, the Cultural Healing Centre and WorkAbility have begun developing an employment strategy specific to Aboriginal people.
READ MORE: Indigenous unemployment rates ‘staggering’
“The strategy outlines the challenges that employers and jobseekers face, and describes ways that we can work together to generate success,” Ms Nye said.
“It has many threads, including school to work initiatives such as Ticket to Work, direct negotiations with employers, mentoring and support, ongoing consultation with traditional custodians and employer forums across the Eurobodalla, Snowy-Monaro and Bega Valley shires, with the potential to extend the strategy into other regions.”
READ MORE: Bega employment forum’s ‘confusing message’
Dave Grealy, disability employment services manager at WorkAbility, said local employers are telling them diversity makes the local workforce – and communities – stronger.
“Employers such as banks and retailers have set Indigenous recruitment targets that will make careers in their companies more accessible,” he said.
Disability Trust executive manager Virginia Fitzclarence said the 2016 ABS census showed four per cent of residents across the three shires indicated they were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.
“There’s a great opportunity here for employers to engage with Mogo Family and Cultural Healing Centre, Local Aboriginal Land Councils and WorkAbility, to build cultural awareness and to grow the diversity of their teams,” Ms Fitzclarence said.
To engage with the strategy, contact Dave Grealy at WorkAbility on 6492 3222, or Mogo Family and Cultural Healing Centre 0401 482 451.
Employers can also contact WorkAbility to connect with upcoming cultural awareness workshops.