As First Nation communities call out for employment support, Australian individuals and businesses eager to provide genuine, sustainable opportunities to First Nations job seekers answer the call. This can come in the form of a community member, a local organisation, or a dedicated business initiative such as TRECCA, a Ventia initiative.
Recently, Asuria hosted the Employer Awards, where TRECCA took home the winning title of the First Nations Excellence award, showing their unwavering commitment to achieving reconciliation between First Nations peoples and the broader Australia population. Through the creation of employment retention initiatives in partnership with Asuria, TRECCA has made outstanding contributions to Making a Difference in the lives of our First Nations participants, one of Asuria’s core values.
TRECCA’s passionate Indigenous Employment team comprises primarily of Indigenous employment specialists located across Australia. Created in 2016, their goal is to achieve significant and sustainable growth in the employment of Indigenous men and women by Ventia, its related entities and subcontractors.
TRECCA recognises that historical organisational recruitment practices have created cultural, logistical, and legal barriers to traditional employment. In their mission to combat this, TRECCA has developed a pathway to employment program that align with the strengths of its First Nations candidates.
Over the past twelve months, Asuria and TRECCA have solidified their partnership, developing unique pathways for Asuria’s First Nations participants directly with Ventia and their extensive network. This partnership includes various objectives designed to create positive economic impact such as reducing the welfare, incarceration and housing costs associated with First Nations unemployment.
Together, TRECCA and Asuria connect with various industry sectors including transport, resources, critical infrastructure, health, housing, defence, justice and education to ensure they can offer a variety of high quality, tailored roles to match each candidate's skills, capabilities and goals. These roles span across including cleaners, mechanics, fire fighters, correctional officers, administrators, project managers and leaders.
In 2023, TRECCA was instrumental in facilitating the employment of over twenty-five of Asuria’s candidates through Ventia and its supply chain network. This included placing five of Asuria’s First Nations candidates into Ventia's Operations Centre and connecting three First Nations participants via external providers through Asuria’s Job Mates program, a local recovery funded project designed to prepare and connect First Nations ex-offenders to work and reduce recidivism rates associated with post-release prisoners.
Their process involves the team arranging interviews for participants within their internal network of stakeholders through reverse marketing. They create employment pathways that align with the strengths of Asuria’s candidates, adopting a ‘get to know you’ approach instead of a typical interview process to ensure the best match between candidate and opportunity.
These opportunities support people with limited to no previous work experience, a criminal history, and other significant personal and environmental barriers. The team at TRECCA keeps in contact with Asuria after participants are placed across Ventia to track their progress and will do everything in their power to provide additional support where needed to help people stay employed.
In addition to these focuses, Asuria and TRECCA have partnered to design and implement an employment pathway for First Nations candidates into contact centre roles at Ventia’s Operation Centre in Parramatta. Created exclusively for Asuria participants, this pathway bypasses the standard recruitment path, giving candidates a deep dive into Ventia's culture through a workplace tour and a Ventia-led information session at the centre itself.
During their first intake, TRECCA arranged 121 interviews on the same day for candidates wishing to pursue an opportunity with Ventia. A TRECCA team member was readily available to act as an ‘interview support person’ where needed. After the immense success of the first round, this program is set to continue, with preparations already underway for another program in 2024.
When selecting a winner for the First Nations Excellence award, the Employer Awards’ independent judging panel considered the active contributions of each finalist in creating pathways for First Nations job seekers. The longevity of TRECCA’s commitment, the personalised proactive partnership approach and the effectiveness of its diverse initiatives shone through in TRECCA’s nomination, ultimately swaying the judges' decision in their favour.
In his acceptance speech at the Employer Awards in Sydney, Steve Mitchell, Project Manager at TRECCA shared his gratitude for this partnership, commenting, “A lot of the work we do is very challenging, but it’s made a lot easier with Asuria.”
Darren Otten, Asuria’s Executive Director for Employer Services also commented on TRECCA’s win, sharing, “TRECCA is an amazing example of a committed employer partnership that truly understands the importance of supporting First Nations excellence. This team is dedicated to creating a workplace that understands and embraces their employees, and could not be more deserving for this award.”
Initiatives like TRECCA, along with its passionate team, are paving the way for a new level of support for First Nations job seekers and the opportunities available to them. Asuria is proud to continue the partnership with TRECCA that prioritises doing recruitment differently.
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