Indigenous Employment Program

The aim of this activity is to broker employment for 25 young indigenous people and avoid the unemployment cycle by identifying and/or creating job opportunities and instilling a work ethic that will lead to direct employment, apprenticeships and/or traineeships. Where needed, participants will be able to try different roles but will maintain the minimum of 15 hours per week employment. We will include school students but at this stage it is not possible to accurately predict the proportion that will be in school and the proportion that will have left school

We will do this by utilising our existing industry/employer contacts that we have developed as a successful local community partnership over the past twelve years.

A Coordinator will be engaged who will be responsible for the overall management of the program.

We will utilise a variety of methods appropriate to the participant’s vocational calling and we will maintain the desire to continue in gainful employment by providing mentoring and celebrating success. Part of the induction into full-time appropriate employment may include the participant’s involvement in some type of work experience in different positions to assess the participant/employer/environment compatibility.

Specific objectives to achieve the aim are to:

Identify > 25 young unemployed Indigenous people, mainly school aged and usually in grades 10 and 11 (NOTE: participants in Yr 12 have too many commitments to add work but if the participants can manage both, MRSILS will support the participant. Mackay Region School Industry Links Scheme "Inc" is an LCP (Local Community Partnership) whose target group is 13 to 19 year-olds. We conduct another successful “Retention ion to years 11/12 School Program (ISLIP)” working with year 10 Indigenous students, as a rapport is already established with these students the School Based Apprenticeship market is our ideal target group. In earlier conversations with the DEWR Contract Manager this was made clear and he concurred.
Develop in the identified participants a work ethic through mentoring and experiential learning
Provide employment opportunities >15 hours per week which may include/lead to School Based Apprenticeship or Full-time Apprenticeship or Traineeship for each of the participants
Influence those school aged students on the program that the only viable option to employment is school.
Develop an individual training and development plan for each participant
Conduct an ongoing skills and knowledge audit on each participant for the duration of the program that results in a statement that formally recognises the skills and knowledge achieved even though much of their learning will be informal on-the-job..
Provide practical support that encourages the participant to commence and retain employment. This will involve supportive vocational and pastoral mentoring which will involve a significant part of the expense of the program.
Provide effective one to one mentoring support that encourages the participant to commence and retain employment.
Celebrate and reward successful participants and their families.