| Queensland’s Department of Education and Training (DET) takes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and training seriously. And not just because of its state-wide responsibility for schooling and training. The DET is seeking to lead by example in its own workforce through Project 2800, which it is working on with the close support of the federal department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. |
Project 2800 is a whole of Queensland Government effort and part of the Premier’s commitment to the Australian Employment Covenant (AEC) to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the Queensland Government by another 2800 workers by 2013.
At the forefront of project 2800 are people like Daniel Caruso, Katherine Waria, Lance Skuthorpe and Jodie Perry who are participating in 12 month traineeships with the DET.
Successful completion of their traineeships will lead to guaranteed real jobs in the DET or, if they choose, springboard them to other opportunities. |
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| Premier Anna Bligh and Andrew Forrest at the signing of the Queensland/AEC Covenant |
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These enthusiastic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers won’t be on their own as they take their journey. They will be supported, led and mentored by others around them. The DET sees them and many more like them as an important part of the future for the Department, the Government more widely and Queensland.
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| Daniel, Jody, Lance and Katherine |
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Project 2800 is doing what the AEC believes works. Not just training for training sake, but real people, in real opportunities leading to real jobs and supported by managers and mentors setting up workers for success and not failure.
Director of the Policy Division of Indigenous Education and Training, Angela Leitch says, “Young people like these four are important to the future of the DET and helping us stay in touch with the aspirations of young people – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous. Growing our Indigenous workforce adds to the Department’s capacity to do its job well.” |
But more than that, she adds “these trainees provide a demonstration to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people that if they finish school, there are real and meaningful jobs available. Seeing that there are real jobs is very important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
The DET, the Federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), the Queensland Government and the AEC are working together to ensure that there are more Indigenous Australians like Jody, Lance, Katherine and Daniel in real employment.
Fiftythousandjobs.com.au will follow their journey to real jobs and opportunity. |