Aboriginal employment, jobs & careers

High Aboriginal unemployment

A common stereotype about Aboriginal people is that they are 'lazy'. People see them getting paid for doing nothing, receiving 'sit-down money'.

In South Australia, for example, the 2006 Population Census recorded an unemployment rate of 20.3% for Aboriginal people, compared to 7.5% for the state's non-Aboriginal population [1].

The Aboriginal unemployment rate is 3 times the national average because many Aboriginal people lack the basics you need in order to go to work. If you hadn't an adequate house for shelter you wouldn't be able to sit down and learn. And without education you wouldn't be able to get a high-paying job.

Aboriginal communities suffer from massive overcrowding in houses, creating an environment where it is hard to learn.

63% of Aboriginal Australians say that inadequate training and qualifications are a barrier to gaining employment, while 47% say they don't have a good understanding of the rules of the workplace [2]. 52% agree that not having the right job-specific training contributed to unemployment levels, while 57% named not having someone within the workplace to help them to settle in and feel supported as a key barrier to achieve employment. The same number believed a lack of numeracy and literacy skills prevented them from getting jobs.

The main barrier to marginalised Indigenous people entering the workforce it not their skill level or their experience, but their level of work-readiness. —Findings of the Walk in My Shoes 2011 report [8]

Poor government policies for education and welfare have made many Aboriginal people unemployable, says Prof Helen Hughes from the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) [3]. The lack of education in remote areas contributes most to unemployment there, while welfare dependence does the same in capital cities. With welfare payments often higher than entry-level wages, would you go to work?

A review in 2011 of Aboriginal employment programs in NSW found that 14 job programs were "basically redundant", costing around $17 million [7].

The reviewers found that there was "not strategy or framework linking programs to the needs of Aboriginal people, and there had been little monitoring or evaluation of money spent and outcomes".

NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Victor Dominello said that "what is needed is greater engagement with the Aboriginal community, improving and sustaining career development pathways through connected programs from school through to employment, leveraging opportunities in growth industries and regions, and strengthening relationships with the private and non-government sectors to link Aboriginal people with more employment and business opportunities" [7].

Aboriginal people want careers, not jobs. We want to be paid right for what we're doing. —Simon Fewings, co-ordinator Dare To Lead Project, Mildura [4]

Australia's first national Aboriginal employment website

On August 31, 2009, the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce launched Australia's first national Aboriginal employment website.

The chamber's chairman, Warren Mundine, said that the site provided a platform for government, businesses and Aboriginal job seekers to work together to minimise Aboriginal unemployment.

"Indigenous people are not as competitive as non-Indigenous people. In interviews they're not promoting themselves. They're not selling themselves. It's not to say they can't do these jobs as well as anyone else—it's just the salesmenship," he said [6].

Most Australians (59%) would like to work with an Aboriginal person a survey found [2], while 66% would give an Aboriginal person employment if they had the opportunity, only 5% would not.

There are dozens of employers, some of the biggest in the country knocking on my door saying they want to hire Indigenous people.—Senator Mark Arbib, federal Minister for Employment Participation [5]

The website is available at www.indigenousjobsaustralia.com.au.

Indigenous Careers & Employment

Indigenous Careers & Employment is another website for Aboriginal job opportunities. The site is 100% Aboriginal-owned and operated and launched on 19 February 2010.

The company's aim is to provide "a unique, culturally aware service that connects Indigenous candidates with employers looking to attract Indigenous talent", but also non-Indigenous people with Indigenous expertise.

Go to www.indigcareers.com.au for more information.

[1] http://www.workforceinfoservice.sa.gov.au/workforceinfo/participation/profiles/aboriginalprofile/unemploy, visited 5/9/2009 [2] 'GenOne in push for job debate', Koori Mail 502 p.40 [3] 'Inept Govt policy denying Indigenous jobs - report', Koori Mail 471 p.36 [4] 'Careers, not jobs', Koori Mail 475 p.46 [5] 'Open for business: indigenous jobs site', BrisbaneTimes.com.au, 1/9/2009 [6] 'Hopes for 100,000 jobs on new Indigenous site', SMH 29/8/2009 [7] 'Employment programs 'have failed'', Koori Mail 517 p.3 [8] 'Report finds frustration', Koori Mail 517 p.30