We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which our offices are situated, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We would like to acknowledge any Aboriginal or Torres strait islanders reading today, and pay our respects to elder's past, present and emerging.
This week is NAIDOC week, and the theme this year is, 'Always ways, always will be.' As NAIDOC week comes to an end, we would like to thank everyone for hosting or getting involved in this week, which is designed to celebrate the traditions of Australia's first people. We would also like to urge all organisations to continue to celebrate our Indigenous history, and to consider ways in which your organisation can be a safe place for employees from all backgrounds.
One organisation that is doing just this, is NovaSkill, who have been working with the National Apprenticeship Employment Network over the last few years to support Indigenous Employees who are completing a traineeship or apprenticeship with their Indigenous Mentoring Program.
The NovaSkill Indigenous Employment Team provides a free mentoring service to our Indigenous Trainees, Apprentices, course participants and employees. The program covers life skills, cross-cultural awareness and employer expectations. This valuable program ensures all indigenous employees have the best chance of success in their role.
On this week's episode of MyGain with AATIS, Alex and Zyleca tell us more about this program.
"It's a free program that is available to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have commenced and apprenticeship, traineeship, school based apprenticeship or general employment on or after the first of February of this years," Alex, the Program Manager said.
"It's a support program to help build the retention rate of Indigenous employment," he said.
Zyleca, a cadet with NovaSkill, is an Bundjalung women who completed her first traineeship through NovaSkill with the help of the Mentoring Program. She is now using her experience as a mentee to support other Indigenous young people complete their training.
"When I first started, I did not have a clue what I wanted to do. Since it was such a great opportunity to take I just decided to stick with is, and it's lead me to all these great opportunities I've had and now I get to give back to others in the community," she said.
Listen to the full podcast episode to hear more about Zyleca's journey, and how the mentoring program has supported her here.
