A GROUP OF
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander trainees is on course to complete
a nationally accredited Certificate II in
Hospitality and move into permanent
Sodexo employment through a new work-
readiness program.
Delivered by Sodexo’s remote site
operations in partnership with Indigenous
advocacy body GenerationOne,
skills provider Polytechnic West and
employment services group AtWork
Australia, the program is part of the
Vocational Education and Training
Centre (VTEC) project established by the
Australian Government.
Participant James Mead saw the
promise of gaining new skills and
employment upon completion of training
as too good an opportunity to miss.
“Sodexo has a wide range of job
opportunities on offer and the program
prepares me for employment through job-
specific training, as well as communication
and team-working skills,” Mead says.
Nationally, $45 million has been
committed for the establishment of VTECs
to equip 5,000 Indigenous Australians
with job-specific skills and employment
by July 2015. Perth’s first VTEC will
provide guaranteed jobs for up to 200
Indigenous people and Sodexo has
promised employment for 10 per cent of
this commitment.
Sodexo Remote Site chief operating
officer Keith Weston says getting involved
was a ‘no brainer’ for Sodexo.
“We’ve been on a journey with our
Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plans
for a number of years now and are very
committed to a strategic approach around
Indigenous engagement,” Weston says.
“Being connected locally is also an
important part of Sodexo’s business.
We employ 428,000 people across 80
INDIGENOUS SKILLS PROGRAM
launches Sodexo careers
The inaugural group of Indigenous jobseekers from Perth’s first hospitality Vocational
Education and Training Centre, based on the GenerationOne employment model,
has begun training for careers in the West Australian resource sector.
countries and, interestingly, 97 per cent of
our employees are hired locally.”
In selecting candidates for the program,
Sodexo canvassed Aboriginal communities
and employment centres across Perth.
Weston was encouraged to find that the
prospect of a real job at completion of
the course was an extremely powerful
motivator for Indigenous trainees.
“Some participants have been out of
work for a period of time and are very keen
to break the cycle of welfare by upskilling
and moving on to gainful employment.
That for me is the most powerful part of
the VTEC program,” he says.
“You don’t have to dig any deeper
for validation of how promising the
participants see this program as opposed
to others which didn’t culminate in real
employment outcomes.”
Beyond just teaching participants the
range of hospitality and customer service
skills needed to work for Sodexo, the
program also focuses on enhancing life skills
that will support sustainable employment.
“The VTEC trainees started with an all-
encompassing pre-employment training
program,” Weston says.
“This includes understanding employer
expectations, managing money, achieving
work-life balance and adjusting to the
FIFO life”.
“Very early on we arranged a site visit
to Boddington, south of Perth, for the
trainees to get a sense of a real remote
environment. We wanted to prepare them
as much as possible for the realities of what
it would be like to work at a remote site.”
Now that he’s had a taste for the
resources hospitality sector, Mead is
optimistic about where his training
could take him.
“The training and employment
opportunities with Sodexo are helping
to get my foot in the door. Having
knowledge and experience under
my belt will allow even more work
opportunities to open,” he says.
RP
James Mead with Sodexo
employee Alexis Schauer
at Polytechnic West’s
Bentley campus in Perth
SUMMER 2014-15 RESOURCE
PEOPLE
|
|
DIVERSITY
32
