It’s widely acknowledged that in Central Australia there’s a large, mostly un-tapped, resource with great potential to meet labour shortages.
Above: Steven Wilson is employed at the Granites
Mine in the Tanami as a result of a partnership
between the CLC and Newmont Gold
As many of these potential employees have little or no work experience, the Central Land Council’s employment unit is a vital link between the Aboriginal job seeker and the employer.
In years gone by, older generations of Central Australian Aboriginal people worked a wide range of jobs, often for no pay other than rations, but in the past 30 years, intergenerational neglect has led to many Aboriginal people lacking the education or skills to get jobs.
Coincidentally, in the past few years employers have had difficulty getting reliable permanent workers who are willing to remain in the region for the long-term.
The Central Land Council employment unit helps marry the two together.
The unit provides training courses in the relevant and available jobs, but also prepares job seekers for the rigours and responsibilities of work.
Given the lack of training or employment experience in many areas, the unit plays a vital role in getting people ready for 12 hour shifts and other similar demands.
The unit has negotiated employment for traditional land owners in mining, land
management and other commercial land use agreements.
What the CLC’s employment unit does
The CLC's employment staff
Agreements bring job opportunities
The variety of agreements that traditional owners can now make with governments and commercial enterprises is bringing employment opportunities for Aboriginal workers.
Examples of such partnerships have included an Indigenous Land Use Agreement on the Pine Hill Pastoral Lease south-east of Ti Tree, a mining agreement between Eastern Arrernte native title holders and Thor Mining and the declaration of an Indigenous Protected Area in the northern Tanami region.
The Central Land Council’s employment unit is preparing strategies to help make the link between the people hoping for jobs and the enterprises aiming to employ them under the agreements.
The Pine Hill ILUA includes Anmatyerr native title holders, the Northern Territory Government and the Central Land Council.
It included a horticultural block for TOs to develop under the management of Centrefarm, which will bring employment opportunities for young Anmatyerr people.
The agreement between Eastern Arrernte native title holders and Thor Mining covers the company’s Molyhil tungsten molybdenum project north-east of Alice Springs.
Under the agreement, Thor has committed to train and employ local Aboriginal people.
The declaration of 40,000 square kilometres of the northern Tanami as an Indigenous Protected Ara is assisting the Wulaign Rangers to win contracts rehabilitating the Tanami Mine site and conducting flora and fauna surveys.Mining and development
Mining on Aboriginal land contributes more than a billion dollars a year to the Northern Territory economy or 80 percent of the Territory’s mining income.
Thanks to the Land Rights Act, the CLC has been able to ensure that some mining companies employ Aboriginal people where they are mining on Aboriginal land;
At the Granites mine in the Tanami, more than 100 Aboriginal people are employed out of a
workforce of 500 people.
The employment unit has worked closely with mining company Newmont Australia on preemployment courses leading to all participants of the courses being offered full-time positions or traineeships at the Granites gold mine;
Ongoing mentoring and other support have been provided for participants in the preemployment course;
The unit has helped Aboriginal people in Central Australia move into boiler maker, light diesel fitter, mechanical and electrician apprenticeships.
The CLC is working with Eastern Arrernte traditional owners, Olympia Resources, Tangentyere Council and Territory and Federal governments on plans for a training centre at Harts Range to cater for prospective mining developments.Parks
The employment unit is working with the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park on employment selection panels and collaborated in the implementation of flexible employment programs for short-term park-related work opportunities for traditional owners and community ranger
groups.
71 people have been placed into 55 projects across the 20 national parks subject to new joint management arrangements in the southern region of the Northern Territory.
The work has helped develop skills in fencing, fire control, fauna surveys, infrastructure placement, walking track repairs, weed control and weed surveys.
Working on country
Above: Steven Wilson is employed at the Granites
Mine in the Tanami as a result of a partnership
between the CLC and Newmont Gold
The Central Land Council’s employment unit is providing vital assistance in the transformation of rangers’ CDEP positions into full-time jobs.
The Federal Government has approved funding for a total of 10 positions over three years with the Muruwarinyi-ankkul Rangers at Tennant Creek and the Tjuwanpa Rangers near Hermannsburg.
The CLC’s employment unit will assist with the recruitment of the rangers and provide ongoing mentoring after they’ve been appointed to their positions.
The mentoring will include assisting the rangers to settle into their jobs by helping them understand the roles they’ve taken on and the demands and responsibilities required of them.
Funding of the part and full-time rangers’ positions builds on the successes of the two rangers groups at Tennant Creek and Tjuwanpa in recent years, which has seen them start to win contracts for maintenance in national parks, and will complete the transformation for some from unemployment to full-time jobs.
Rangers’ jobs involve flora and fauna surveys, fire and weed management, the protection of cultural sites and the control of feral animals and weeds. It’s important work that helps conserve the environmental and cultural values of country.
More rangers’ jobs are set to be funded in the future with the employment unit again playing a role in the appointment and mentoring of the new recruits to ensure the initiative is a success.
Horticulture
Horticulture has emerged as an important new industry in Central Australia with potential to
provide significant economic and employment opportunities.
The CLC is working with traditional owners and other interested parties on projects that will see the development of Aboriginal land north of Alice Springs and the creation of full-time and seasonal jobs.
The employment unit will be responsible for the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal people and assist in pre-employment training.Road construct ion
The CLC has helped negotiate an indigenous employment agreement for the Mereenie Loop
Road upgrade;
Others workers had gained employment on roadworks contracts for Namatjira Drive and the
Granites and Coyote mines.Funding
The CLC employment unit is funded by the Aboriginal Benefits Account.Pastoral
A memorandum of understanding between the Central Land Council, the pastoral industry
and the Northern Territory Government has helped establish training programs for Aboriginal
people wanting to work within the industry.
The CLC has helped negotiate agreements between pastoralists and traditional owners for
the leasing of Aboriginal land. Under the agreements, pastoralists get to lease the Aboriginal
land but add infrastructure to it, such as fencing and bores, and employ Aboriginal workers.
The employment unit plays a role in getting those workers ready for their jobs.Courses
The CLC has arranged or supported training for real jobs for Aboriginal people in its region
in fields as diverse as heavy machinery operations, fire management techniques, pastoral
management training, land management through Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Education,
quad bike use, weed eradication and equipment maintenance.Employers
Enterprises that have employed people through the CLC’s employment unit include Newmont, Henry Walker Eltin, S and J Earthmoving, Skilled Engineering, the NT Government, CDE Capital and ESS Compass Group.The Value of the CLC’s Employment Unit
The approach the employment unit has brought to training and job placement has delivered real jobs for Aboriginal people from remote communities which has not been achieved through any conventional employment models;
The unit cooperates with companies and government departments to achieve this;
Staff working with the employment unit help prospective workers and trainees to collect, fill in and return application forms, register on the unit’s data base, plan a career pathway and undertake medical and police checks;
To get a job in the mining industry people have to undertake medical, drug and police checks. The CLC employment unit pays for the cost of these checks;
When vacancies become available, the unit matches people on our data base to the jobs available.
