2018 GTO Excellence Award Winner: Skillinvest

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GTO Service Excellence Award Skillinvest Dale Gemmell with Gary Workman

Indigenous School-based Trainee Employment Program

Skillinvest has partnered with the Victorian State Government (Jobs Victoria) and Victoria Police to provide opportunities for secondary school students that identify as Indigenous. The Jobs Victoria/Victoria Police program is delivered via the school-based traineeship program and is a state-wide initiative in Victoria.

Funded by Jobs Victoria after a successful pilot program ran and funded by Skillinvest, students are studying a certificate III in Business and undertaking an administration traineeship. The Jobs Victoria/Victoria Police program provides students with paid part-time employment in an office-based environment in an operating Police station; the employment and training are completed over two years. Pathways and further traineeships are offered to students on completion of the traineeship by the Australian tax office, Victoria Police and other government authorities.

Currently 30 trainees have commenced in 24 Police stations around Victoria. The funding will eventually see 60 trainees commence over a four-year period. More Police stations across Victoria are applying to have trainees employed through this program as it gains momentum.

As a values based, not for profit organisation, Skillinvest contributes significantly to the communities in which it operates and has assisted many Indigenous People to source and retain meaningful education and employment through the program and another Jobs Victoria Funded program designed to facilitate and broker 100 people who identify as indigenous into sustainable employment by mid 2020. The majority of these work placements are targeted at the East Gippsland and Wimmera regions of Victoria.

As Skillinvest are also a registered GTO, they are in the unique position of being able to offer wrap-around services resulting in better support and mentoring for students taking part in our program. This has resulted in excellent retention of students within this program. Skillinvest trainees work with the Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers employed by Victoria Police and Skillinvest have employed their own community liaison officer based in the East Gippsland region who works with all the students across both programs.

In the Jobs Victoria Employment Brokerage program, 52 people identifying as indigenous have been place into employment with 38 of these still employed after 26 weeks. Many of these employment opportunities are traineeships and where Skillinvest does not deliver the necessary training, we partner with other training providers and TAFE’s.

Some of the companies and community organisations that currently broker employment through this program are East Gippsland Shire, East Gippsland Water, The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Cubbycare, Horsham Rural City Council, Wimmera Catchment Authority, Suggys Automotive and trailer hire.

So far 5 students have successfully completed the JVEN Victoria Police program and gained their certificate III in Business Administration with a further 12 students on track to complete by November 2018.  As part of their Traineeship students are invited to attend a camp at the Victoria Police Academy where they are given first hand experiences and see cadets in training for careers in Victoria Police.

All Skillinvest employees that are working with participants in these programs have undertaken Indigenous Culture training through Central Australian Remote Health Development Services Ltd (CARHDS), this training is updated annually. Skillinvest have developed and been working on a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) since 2015 and are currently in the third year and meeting set targets.

Skillinvest are committed to creating better understanding and communication between the Indigenous Community and Victoria Police by working with all parties to create employment opportunities for Indigenous People within the Victorian Police force.

Skillinvest have developed relationships with many employers, organisations and government departments across Victoria and brokered traineeships and ongoing employment for Indigenous People in Metro and Rural areas across the state through this program.