Page 31 - Australian Defence Magazine October 2021

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DEFENCE BUSINESS 31
said. “Sometimes there is a focus on raw numbers and data as opposed to the in- tent of the policies that exist. For instance, there are many opportunities for Aborigi- nal people but sometimes they can be at the lower echelon of the organisation,
those entry-level roles.”
For JLB-Yaran, professionalising Indige-
nous talent to lift them into leadership posi- tions is a core focus. The company runs the Indigenous Development and Employment Program (IDEP), designed to mentor Indig- enous talent and their employers. This year, they are delivering the IDEP to the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), where ten NIAA Australian Public Service staff are participating in leadership, com- munication and professionalisation training to better reach their potential.
“We’ve got some very capable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people already serving a number of organisations in the country,” Dumbrell said. “We need to focus on ways to provide them with culturally safe environments with which to network among their Indigenous peers, and where they are comfortable to have a voice, and to have a conversation with others about how they can best perform in their workplaces.”
ENGAGING WITH INDIGENOUS COMPANIES
Dumbrell adds that for those government entities that are not sure how to best engage with Indigenous businesses, Supply Nation is a great place to start.
“If an Indigenous company is Supply Nation certified then they’ve gone through a fairly rig- orous procedure in order to get that accredita- tion,” he said. “Therefore, Commonwealth delegates can be confident that they’re dealing with a good and authentic Indigenous business.
“It’s such an exciting time in Defence and defence industry with the amount of work that’s going on and the amount of investment from the Government. There are a lot of Ab- original and Torres Strait Islander companies out there who can deliver some great capabil- ity. I think this is a great opportunity, prob- ably a once in a generation opportunity, to go a long way towards closing that economic gap. And I think that Defence can be a big part of that story on a macro-scale.” ■
LEFT: JLB-Yaran together with Focus HQ, Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium (IDIC) and National Indigenous Australians Agency hosting a virtual IDEP workshop in August.
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