The four-day festival is held annually by the Yothu Yindi Foundation at the Garma ceremonial ground at Gulkula, an area of ancestral significance for the Yolngu people, where participants camp in a stringybark forest that overlooks the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Professor Marcia Langton, Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, moderated a discussion between a packed audience and three panellists — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, GenerationOne founder Andrew Forrest and GenerationOne CEO Tim Gartrell.

Discussion at the forum was centred around GenerationOne’s new draft policy — Skills and Training for a Career— which covers career pathways, linking training to real jobs and the importance of job candidates being ready for work. Mentoring and post-placement support for new employees were seen by forum participants as critical in helping new employees stay on the job.

Andrew Forrest opened the discussion by saying that well-meaning policies of the past had created barriers to employment for Indigenous people.

“We need to charge the employers of Australia with their responsibility,” he said. “After several decades of so-called equal opportunity, we need a new attitude — we need employment among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people at rates that are barely perceptible in their difference.”

Mr Forrest called on the Federal Government to commit to job-specific training now that over 300 employers had pledged their commitments to over 58,000 jobs through the Australian Employment Covenant (AEC).

“The racism of low expectations in the employment sense is behind us but Government must deliver the training to allow Indigenous people to take jobs,” he said.

Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said that Aboriginal people must be held to the highest academic and employment standards.
“The problem in schools and workplaces is low expectations,” he said. “GenerationOne is looking at entry into work but after that we need to support people to stay at work.

“This is evolving, how we provide wrap-around services and support people for the initial period at work.
“This is about substantive equality — treating people differently to get the same outcome. It’s doing stuff to make the playing field level because the playing field hasn’t been level.”

In response to a question about the tension between work and cultural obligations, such as attending funerals and sorry business, Professor Langton said strong relationships between companies and elders would foster knowledge of cultural requirements and make it harder for some people to use culture as an excuse to avoid work and bring Aboriginal culture into disrepute.

“Why are there so many funerals? Because people are sick, poor and they don’t have jobs,” she said. “We have to get out of the constant death cycle and this can only happen slowly. Business has to have a relationship with the community.”

GenerationOne CEO Tim Gartrell said conversations with employers during a national roadshow last year revealed the importance of job readiness and post-employment support, principles which are pivotal to the Skills and Training for a Career draft policy.

“We want the Government to be the enabling force for a pathway that stretches from pre-employment to post-employment,” he said. “This includes accredited training, induction and planning, work and life skills — all linked to a guaranteed job and a career that may lead to a role as a manager, senior executive or CEO.

“The best programs involve competency and passion. Working with communities is crucial. It’s important that social enterprise and community organisations are involved.”

Shirley McPherson, chair of the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC), provided proof that the seachange in attitudes, generated in part by the work of GenerationOne and the AEC, was creating real jobs for Indigenous people. The ILC purchased Ayers Rock Resort, including 140 hectares of freehold land, for $300 million earlier this year. The workforce numbers nearly 800 people and the resort is aiming for 50 per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees by 2018.

“It is achievable. We were one of the first Indigenous organisations to be part of the employment covenant and we have had fantastic results,” Ms McPherson said.

“There are real jobs there. We really value the mentor system, it’s at the heart of our success. There are great things happening when you give people an opportunity.”

As the Garma Festival was concluding on Monday 8 August, news was breaking about a strategic review of Indigenous expenditure released under Freedom of Information laws by the Department of Finance. In a sobering assessment of the effectiveness of public expenditure, the review reinforces the need for a flood-lit pathway into employment to end the disparity in this generation.

The review found that “the unintended consequence of the current structure of employment services’ funding and incentives frequently sees ‘high maintenance’ clients like this cohort on a conveyor belt of perpetual introductory and low-level preparatory VET courses, and erratic work experiences”. And that personalised support may be expensive, however, “the costs (social, economic, human) of not doing anything are even higher and, all too often, tragic”.

We know there is a better way to deliver pre-employment skills and training that is linked to real and sustainable careers, and GenerationOne hopes that all stakeholders and supporters will download the draft policy on Skills and Training for a Career, and then share their experiences.
Read the Skills and Training for a Career draft policy or make a submission at http://generationone.org.auttraining/submissions