Submission to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the Indigenous Jobs and Training Review

Transcription

1 Submission to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the Indigenous Jobs and Training Review DECEMBER 2013

2 Business Council of Australia December The Business Council of Australia (BCA) brings together the chief executives of more than 100 of Australia s leading companies, whose vision is for Australia to be the best place in the world in which to live, learn, work and do business. About this submission The BCA is committed to supporting the success of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, and to helping create the social and economic conditions in which First Australians can reach their potential. Creating the right conditions for improved outcomes in Indigenous employment involves business and governments working effectively together to support the aspirations of Indigenous people and communities. Business can and is playing a role in building both internal capacity for Indigenous employment and creating partnerships and alliances to increase the flow of Indigenous people into opportunities. In the last 12 months the Indigenous workforce of BCA member companies grew by 3,500. This is a 30 per cent increase on 2012 numbers. Demand is strong, with 80 per cent of BCA members indicating they want to recruit more Indigenous staff in There are no silver bullet solutions that will dramatically reduce Indigenous unemployment numbers in the next three years. There are, however, ways for governments to improve connections between employment demand and supply and support employers to realise their Indigenous employment goals. Employers who want to build their Indigenous workforces should not be faced with barriers and red-tape when they look to government for assistance. Indigenous employment programs and funding need to be more responsive to employer demand, recognise successful approaches and be more able to build links between employers and Indigenous jobseekers as they flow through the mainstream system. Key points and recommendations Business-government cooperation and co-investment is required to boost employment outcomes As the BCA outlined in our submission to the review of the Indigenous Employment Program (IEP), the costs to employers of Indigenous employment initiatives are often a product of systemic failings, largely in our education systems. Therefore it s necessary for governments to cost-share with business when it comes to issues of work-readiness and skill development. Key aspects of what employers need to do to secure and retain Indigenous employees (preemployment training, mentoring, cultural awareness training) can be resource intensive. Reliable and flexible government funding, through the Indigenous Employment Program or its equivalent, needs to be readily available to support the additional costs of Indigenous employment strategies. Existing criteria that is based on a misconception that this kind of support from government is only required as short term seed funding does not recognise the ongoing costs of some aspects of companies Indigenous employment programs. Recommendation: That the IEP or equivalent employer funding program be made more flexible and longer-term funding contracts be made available where appropriate, especially for employers 1 who have a significant co-investment in employment resources and infrastructure. 1. Or employer-selected providers.

3 Business Council of Australia December The current JSA system does not link effectively with employers looking to target Indigenous recruits Most Indigenous jobseekers are serviced by the mainstream Job Services Australia (JSA) system. However, most BCA members report little on-the-ground engagement from JSA providers regarding their Indigenous employment aspirations. One member even notes that in an area where they are the largest private sector employer they have never been approached by a local JSA about their employment requirements. Others report JSAs repeatedly sending inappropriate candidates with neither the skills nor the interest for the job opportunity being offered. Third party providers are currently exploiting the market inefficiencies of the JSA system by working with employers and communities to link supply and demand, and offer industry-specific training and supports like mentoring. Both employers and governments are paying for this either directly or through the IEP. Because so many Indigenous jobseekers come through the mainstream JSA network it is clear that there needs to be an investment in building the capacity of JSA providers to understand and service the needs of employers as well as their Indigenous clients. Recommendation: In reforming the JSA system for 2015 consider incentivising relationshipbuilding with employers; an up-to-date and publically available performance appraisal measure on Indigenous employment performance, especially for JSAs in areas with high Indigenous populations; resourcing JSAs to develop specialised Indigenous employment practices and encourage networking among JSAs to share and embed good practice. Invest in the three core success factors: Pre-employment training, mentoring that is available for the long term and culturally safe workplaces. Job readiness and pre-employment training that is matched to a job or industry is one of three vital factors in successful Indigenous employment programs. BCA member companies who have had success with Indigenous employment all nominate the availability of good, potentially long-term (18 months+) mentoring for Indigenous employees as critical to retention. Safety is a non-negotiable component of workplace policy. In work environments that have or plan to have Indigenous employees, cultural safety should be viewed as equally essential. Recommendation: That funding, advice and support be available to employers with Indigenous employment strategies for both pre-employment training, workplace cultural awareness training 2 and long-term mentoring. Support local, place and industry based approaches to Indigenous employment/workforce development In many places there are significant resources dedicated to Indigenous training and employment. Unfortunately in many circumstances these resources aren t linked up with each other, and most importantly they are often not linked up with employer demand. Many businesses don t have the capacity to take on large numbers of Indigenous employees, making it difficult to justify investing in costly employment strategies. Industry-based approaches, where employers can collaborate on Indigenous workforce development strategies could permit these employers to scale their Indigenous employment investments. 2. In some workplaces the costs of cultural awareness training can be low and borne by the business. In other, mostly very large companies with dispersed national networks of workplaces and employees, the costs can be high and on-going. These factors should be considered when deciding funding for workplace cultural awareness.

4 Business Council of Australia December Recommendation: Support is required through the IEP or other funding to link-up existing resources and services to better connect jobseekers with training and employment. This needn t be costly, but strategic and targeted to regions and areas with the appropriate preconditions (density of services, Indigenous populations, employment vacancies). The Indigenous Opportunity Policy (IOP) needs to be strengthened Supplier diversity is a relatively new but growing area in which BCA member companies are seeking to influence Indigenous economic participation. In the last 12 months BCA member companies have spent $2 billion on goods and services from Indigenous businesses and joint ventures. Currently, the government s policy encouraging companies to follow the IOP in tendering for government contracts 3 does not extend to recognising this practice in final contracts (requirements are in tender documents only) and there seems to be a lack of consistent performance evaluation against any IOP criteria. Recommendation: That the government bring together key government contractors and Indigenous business representatives to discuss ways of strengthening the effectiveness of the IOP to further encourage and reward good IOP practice. 3. For all government contracted projects involving expenditure of $5 million (or $6 million for construction) in regions with significant Indigenous populations, tenderers must submit and have approved a plan for training and employing Indigenous people and for the use of Indigenous suppliers.

5 Business Council of Australia December BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA 42/120 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 T F Copyright December 2013 Business Council of Australia ABN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any way without acknowledgement to the Business Council of Australia. The Business Council of Australia has taken reasonable care in publishing the information contained in this publication but does not guarantee that the information is complete, accurate or current. In particular, the BCA is not responsible for the accuracy of information that has been provided by other parties. The information in this publication is not intended to be used as the basis for making any investment decision and must not be relied upon as investment advice. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the BCA disclaims all liability (including liability in negligence) to any person arising out of use or reliance on the information contained in this publication including for loss or damage which you or anyone else might suffer as a result of that use or reliance.