The organisation, which comprises the Les Tobler construction training centre and the hospitality training course Yaama Dhiyaan, aims to train and facilitate the employment of young Indigenous people in the construction and hospitality industries.
Andrew Constantinidis, Koori Job Ready Senior Manager, thinks that the NCIE is the perfect partner: “Everyone is on the same page and I believe we can be more successful with this move, where we’ll create more opportunities for our guys and girls of all ages.”
Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, who manages Koori Job Ready’s hospitality branch, Yaama Dhiyaan, also welcomes the new partnership: “It’s exciting, and it’s a challenge to all of us, but we’ll all grow rapidly.”
Andrew explains that the organisation has come a long way since the early 2000s, when Aunty Beryl first started working with Les Tobler on her vision. KJR has trained and placed over 1000 young people since 2006: “When I started here back in 2009, our contracts were like with eight or 20 positions. Now we’re dealing with a minimum of a hundred positions on our sites,” says Andrew.
The hospitality branch has also grown more and more successful: “We provide Uluru with 25 per cent of employment out there, and a lot of our young people who go up there are permanently employed now, they wanted to stay, they had that opportunity and choice, and now we’re able to give our students choices and that’s really great,” says Aunty Beryl.
Andrew adds: “We still have a lot to learn, a lot to grow, we’re a very small team, but with the support of the NCIE, with the organisation that they are, I think it can give us that extra support that we need, that extra push to higher success.”
Do they see a future where Aboriginal people will get equal job opportunities? “This is one of the benchmarks for that, hopefully we’ll continue that success,” says Aunty Beryl. “It’s a role model for other Aboriginal organisations and people in country areas, because this project that we have here, you can take it anywhere and start off and watch it grow.” Andrew says that the ultimate goal for Koori Job Ready is to become fully sustainable.
Koori Job Ready was recognised for their efforts in September when they won a Deadly Award in the Employment category. “We were very excited about it, it’s an achievement for all of us, a recognition for what we do,” says Aunty Beryl. But they didn’t get to enjoy their award too long, as it coincided with the end of their training courses and they still had a lot of work to do with their students: “We’re so busy! We’ll celebrate at the end of the year, when it’s a bit quieter,” Aunty Beryl laughs.
