Businesses have a moral obligation to support First Nations employees, guests at an Ai Group webinar heard last week.
Education is key — not only to foster reconciliation but to achieve successful outcomes for First Nations people in the workplace, panellists said.
The online event, held to celebrate National Reconciliation Week, brought together the perspectives of a range of employment voices — from apprentice to business owner.
Experts from Ai Group and the Ai Group Apprentice and Trainee Centre (Ai Group ATC) also contributed to the conversation.
Webinar host and Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said reconciliation is an important objective for everyone.
“This year's National Reconciliation Week theme ‘Be a Voice for Generations’ provides a focus for working towards the goal of a just, equitable and reconciled Australia,” he said.
“It encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways — in our everyday lives, where we live, where we work and where we socialise.
“It also makes clear that our actions must be as loud as our voices. One of those actions that Reconciliation Australia identifies is the action of listening.
“Sometimes, being a voice means to listen.
“First Nations people have a long legacy of speaking out for their communities, and listening protects the space for a multitude of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewpoints and perspectives.
“If you're unsure, the advice would be to listen and learn.”
When it comes to engaging with First Nations employees — plan ahead, said Mick McMillan, a proud Wiradjuri man and Managing Director of Ai Group member AEP Engineering, a Supply Nation-registered engineering and manufacturing business in Townsville, North Queensland, that was the first Australian sovereign manufacturer to design and supply militarised patrol vehicles.
“Make sure there are resources already in place to support them,” Mr McMillan, pictured, said.
“If you’re starting a business, first establish where you want to get to — in terms of First Nations engagement — even though that may be hard during the excitement of building a business.
“However, it’s much harder once you've already set off, and it becomes expensive when you don't get it right.
“Without a competent and engaging workforce, there’s not a lot of success available.”
Nicola Street, Ai Group’s Director – Workplace Relations Policy, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, agrees.
“Understanding and learning about cultural competency is critical to ensuring your workplace is ready to not just accommodate but include First Nations people,” she said.
“We encourage business to get advice about how best to recruit, particularly at the apprentice level, and to have appropriate mentoring arrangements and support measures in place.
“It's important that a workforce is culturally safe and sensitive to First Nations people.
“This involves strategic thought and planning.”
Mr McMillan, whose workforce comprises Australian Defence Force Veterans and First Nations candidates, said bringing experts on site to explain Indigenous customs was an excellent way to educate staff.
“External educators can explain the cultural significance of practices such as Acknowledgement and Welcome to Country or why we call people aunties,” he said.
“Face-to-face learning gives people real-world examples — and that education is immediate.
“It’s important for businesses to show employees that these are real customs that must happen.”
As an Employment and Training Consultant with the Ai Group ATC, Keith Wicks is responsible for managing relationships between Ai Group, host organisations, apprentices and trainees, registered training organisations (RTOs) and a broad range of community members from public, private and non-for-profit sectors.
He is also a proud Walbunja and Yorta Yorta man who draws upon his own background and experiences to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander apprentices and trainees.
“As a mentor, I discuss examples of positive role modelling, emotional stability, learning and perseverance,” Mr Wicks said.
“I try to help them understand outside perspectives and I provide guidance — offering a range of ways they can go about their decision-making, rather than telling them what to do and how to go about it.
“It’s a much-needed role that brings me fulfillment and optimism.
“Generating job opportunities and then seeing these young people grow into fine young men and women as they develop into fully qualified tradespeople is deeply rewarding.”
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander apprentices and trainees have extra obstacles to overcome, Mr Wicks said.
“They already face barriers to gaining employment and once they do get a job, there is still a long way to go,” he said.
“Completing their apprenticeship or traineeship is a key hurdle.”
Employers also need support — to become culturally aware.
For example, First Nations people have a cultural responsibility towards family which may lead to some apprentices, trainees and employees needing extra personal leave.
“If we don’t identify these issues and educate host companies about the responsibilities that First Nations people shoulder, a lack of understanding and connection with the apprentices and trainees develops,” Mr Wicks said.
“It eventually leads to a breakdown of the employee-employer relationship.”
Such cultural awareness has been enlightening for many host companies.
“They’ve been gobsmacked by some of the things they may not have picked up on — whether it’s an admin issue or the need for extended leave,” Mr Wicks said.
“Some host companies aren’t sure how to navigate certain situations.”
Jacob Ryan is an apprentice who has benefited from Mr Wick’s guidance.
Sydney-based Jacob, who is three quarters of the way into a Certificate III in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, said he had received continuous support from the Ai Group ATC and Mr Wicks.
“My apprenticeship is one of the hardest trades from a TAFE point of view because you’re basically doing three trades at once: electrical, plumbing and refrigeration,” Mr Ryan said.
“Support is the thing you need most when you're doing an apprenticeship.
“It’s tough, so the extra support from Keith is amazing.
“He really understands where I come from because he's been in that same place.
“He understands Aboriginal culture. He’s taught me so much and has even shown me how to find my mob, which I would never have known, and I’m still looking into that.
“More businesses should provide this level of support for (First Nations apprentices), to make sure they’re doing OK.”
Mr McMillan said businesses had a moral obligation to support First Nations employees.
“That moral support is so important,” he said.
“Someone with a few more years on their shoulders can offer the younger ones a different perspective.
“As Jacob said, he can talk to Keith and say: ‘Hey, I’m struggling here’.”
Mr McMillan said he personally felt the need to pay it forward.
“I feel privileged to be able to sit where I am at the moment,” he said.
“I’ve been able to manoeuvre through life mainly due to the support systems and the opportunities that I have been afforded.
“So, yes, there is a moral obligation to give back and allow other people to benefit from some of the opportunities that I've had.
“Within our business constitution, we’ve written that at a certain point, we must achieve 50 per cent Indigenous employment (up from the current 10 to 15 per cent).”
It’s not easy, though.
"We are very actively trying to find a young undergraduate mechanical engineer so that we can mentor and foster them through a four-year university degree,” Mr Mcmillan said.
“It’s difficult because my business is within a very skilled sector.”
Working through a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has been transformative for Ai Group, Ms Street said.
“A RAP creates opportunities for reflection by businesses and employees to look at what reconciliation means for them, not just within the workplace but in the community, too.
“It's also about organisational growth, in terms of building new networks with First Nations communities and other businesses and building deeper engagement within your own workforce and with others.
“While it may not be for every organisation — depending on your business size — we strongly encourage employers to consider a RAP or a strategic plan for building reconciliation with First Nations people within their business.”
“I don't see reconciliation as being a finite thing,” Mr McMillan said.
“I think it will grow and continue to expand.
“Education within the workplace and even including some more First Nations content within the education system or curriculums would be helpful.
“The referendum (on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament) is a good step which will give us an outcome, and then people can decide where the next milestone is.
“But it will take time.
“We’ll see people like Jacob become the leaders of tomorrow.
“Everyone needs to continue being that voice for the next generation or the current one, as well.”
Mr Wicks has high hopes, too.
“I’m optimistic for what the future holds as I continue to carve a pathway for current and future generations of apprentices and trainees,” he said.
“We all have a different approach to the same outcome, but I would say: ‘Teach the lessons that you have learned along the way to continue contributing to the next generation'.”
Ai Group's Diversity and Inclusion Exchange is a member-driven network designed to share leading diversity approaches and strategies and to discuss emerging policy issues. Due to Ai Group's broad membership, we are able to facilitate the sharing of ideas and initiatives by companies across different industries, and to collectively build greater strategic thinking about more inclusive and innovative workplaces.
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Wendy Larter is Communications Manager at the Australian Industry Group. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a reporter, features writer, contributor and sub-editor for newspapers and magazines including The Courier-Mail in Brisbane and Metro, the News of the World, The Times and Elle in the UK.
