Group Training Australia (GTA) engaged Employment and Training Outcomes Pty Ltd (ETO) to undertake a feasibility study for the development of a national Indigenous Australian Apprenticeship employment strategy for the group training network. The purpose of the strategy is to seek increased participation of Indigenous Australians by implementing practical measures to support the network in attracting, employing and retaining Indigenous trainees and apprentices.

The project was funded by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).
The project was undertaken with full knowledge of the important roles that group training organisations (GTOs) already perform as labour market intermediaries in supporting improved employment and training outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Indeed, the GTO network has a proud record of achievement in this area. For example, GTOs now employ:

• over 40,000 apprentices and trainees - which is about 13% of all new entrant apprentices and trainees currently in training
• one in five traditional apprentices; and
• one in five Indigenous apprentices and trainees

Many of the innovative efforts of GTOs in employing Indigenous Australians have already been recorded in a 2002 Best Practice Guide. The current project involved a study to examine the feasibility of building on these achievements through the development of a national Indigenous employment strategy for the group training network.

In their response to the GTA brief, the consultants recognised that the strategy would not be developed as a “one size fits all” model as it must recognise the widely varying contexts and challenges faced by individual GTOs around Australia. Factors such as industry mix, remoteness from mainstream work, on or off-community context, job readiness of the target group, availability of other service providers, Indigenous community involvement will all influence the strategies to be applied in any locality. The strategy would also acknowledge that GTOs will not normally succeed on their own – most successful strategies will recognise the need for effective partnerships of all providers working together to pool expertise and resources.

The feasibility study confirmed that there was indeed scope for the development of a National Indigenous Employment Strategy which would deliver improved outcomes for Indigenous people and funding has now also been provided by DEEWR to implement the strategy.

Click here to view the feasibility study
Click here to view the National Indigenous Employment Strategy

April 2008.