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Guaranteed jobs for Indigenous Australians supplied by Office of Minister of Indigenous Affairs 18 January 2014
T
he Australian Government will fasttrack the implementation of GenerationOne‟s demand-driven training model to help more Indigenous Australians into jobs by better connecting employers and jobseekers. From next month, non-profit organisations BoysTown and Marist Youth Care will open the first two Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTEC) in the outer Brisbane area of Kingston and in Western Sydney. BoysTown, an employment and support service provider, will train Indigenous people to fill 150 guaranteed jobs, and Marist Youth Care, which works with young people at risk, will train Indigenous people to fill 250 guaranteed jobs within two years. The jobs range across a variety of sectors including hospitality, cleaning services, property and
business services, retail and trade Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Senator Nigel Scullion, said these two high-performing organisations will work closely with employers who have identified jobs, before training Indigenous jobseekers specifically to fill these jobs. “This model ensures jobseekers are job-ready and have the skills and relevant training to fill a guaranteed position,” Minister Scullion said. “It also helps break what has become too common a cycle in Indigenous Affairs of „training for training‟s sake‟, which ultimately discourages Indigenous jobseekers who often feel they are on an endless cycle of training which never leads to real work. “The VTEC model is based on strong collaboration with employers, employment and training service providers, participation support services and local Indigenous communities.” The Coalition committed at the election to provide up to $45 million to deliver the demand-
driven VTEC training model, developed by GenerationOne, to train up to 5,000 Indigenous Australians into guaranteed jobs by 2015. “These first contracts, at $4.5 million, represent a significant start to what will ultimately be a series of VTEC‟s operating in key areas across the country, where employers can guarantee real jobs for Indigenous Australians who are trained and job-ready,” the Minister said. “Andrew Forrest has shown through his work with the Australian Employment Covenant, that a demand-driven approach leads to concrete outcomes, ensuring Indigenous trainees receive practical training, with a job guarantee when they are skilled up. “Government needs to support corporate Australia in its push to employ more Indigenous Australians, and this model will do that. “We are committed to doing all it can to boost job opportunities for Indigenous Australians.”
Twiggy Forrest with Indigenous mining trainees. Senator Scullion says the Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest AEC demand-driven approach works as it ensures Indigenous trainees receive practical training, with a job guarantee when they are skilled up. Image: The Australian
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