Mining magnate and philanthropist Andrew Forrest says Australia's corporate bosses have been put on notice from the largest-ever deal by a single company to promote Indigenous employment.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull joined Mr Forrest in Canberra on Thursday night to announce plans by staffing, maintenance and facility management company Programmed to recruit 5000 Indigenous Australians as part of the industry-led Australian Employment Covenant initiative, supported by the federal government.
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Closing the gap too slow
Indigenous leaders are concerned about slow pace of change when it comes to closing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous people. Courtesy ABC News 24.
Programmed managing director Chris Sutherland signed a new contract with Mr Forrest's Generation One organisation, established to end the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within one generation through boosted employment.
Jobs as part of the deal will be delivered by organisations including training and placement agency VTEC, the Employment Parity Initiative, Job Active and other government programs.
Last year, VTEC surpassed 5000 job placements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, by offering job-specific training to potential employees with the promise of guaranteed employment.
Mr Forrest said the deal showed momentum was building towards efforts to close the gap of Indigenous disadvantage through employment.
"In the short history of active Indigenous employment, there's never been a contract signed remotely as big as 5000 people and it is quite historic that one company has stepped up to sign a contract for such a very large number of Indigenous employees.
"It's a very positive development that such a large organisation as Programmed has taken this step. They will immediately reach out into the community, particularly Indigenous communities, but also broader to reach where Aboriginal people live, and make offers of employment immediately," he said.
"The business sector can lead from the front, the government can certainly support, and now having Indigenous people stepping means that hard decisions and strong leadership can see disparity end. This is proof that process is under way."
The Australian Employment Covenant, established after the 2008 apology to Indigenous Australians and members of the Stolen Generations, aims to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands by creating 50,000 new jobs.
Mr Forrest and his wife, Nicola Forrest, contributed $2 million, with more than 70 per cent of successful job applicants remaining in employment after six months.
Mr Turnbull praised the progress on new Indigenous jobs.
"Andrew's Generation One initiative has resulted in thousands of new jobs for Indigenous Australians," he said.
"Chris' company Programmed, a managed services business across the country, has 23,000 employees. Currently 606 of them are Indigenous Australians . . . and you're committing here to grow that to 5000. That's a great commitment.
"Everything we're doing . . . is designed to economically enhance First Australians."
Mr Sutherland said Programmed's First Australians employment commitment would ensure the company's workforce reflected the backgrounds of communities it operated in.