One hundred Indigenous job seekers in the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia will be placed into guaranteed jobs, mainly in the oil and gas industries, through a new Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC).

Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, and Federal Member for Durack, Ms Melissa Price, today announced the new Centre would be operated by Real Futures Pty Ltd in partnership with Onslow Workforce and Labour Solutions Pty Ltd.

“Getting Indigenous people into meaningful work is a key priority for the Australian Government, and the VTEC model does this by connecting Indigenous job seekers to employers through experienced employment service providers,” Minister Scullion said.

“VTECs are managed by service providers who have strong community and employer connections. They share a goal in helping Indigenous people gain ongoing employment, ending training for training’s sake while improving industry’s cultural sensitivity and community knowledge.”

Ms Price said that aligning training to real jobs, in the way the VTEC model does, should help underpin sustainable employment and help to secure a better future for Indigenous communities.

“Real Futures, as well as Onslow Workforce and Labour Solutions (OWLS), will work closely with employers who have identified jobs in the oil, gas, ore extraction, construction, transportation and related sectors in advance of training local Aboriginal job seekers specifically to fill these positions,” Ms Price said.

Real Futures Pty Ltd is largely Indigenous-owned and staffed and has strong and productive relationships with Aboriginal Elders, traditional owners, employers and service providers.

Wendy Yarnold, Real Futures Managing Director, said Real Futures provides customised industry-specific training, developing job skills and helping new employees to become immediately productive.

OWLS Head office is located in Perth and mobile offices will service the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions including Carnarvon, Karratha and Exmouth, with operational support provided by the Real Futures VTEC team.

OWLS Managing Director, Cyril Hayes, said the oil, gas, mining and associated industries operating in the West Pilbara and Gascoyne regions provide a once in a generation opportunity for Aboriginal people, families and communities to achieve real economic advancement and wellbeing.

VTECs are an Australian Government initiative based on the GenerationOne employment model.

GenerationOne Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jeremy Donovan, said VTECs are driven by a demand-led employment model that is the future of Australian Indigenous vocational training and employment.

“Both employer and employee can have confidence that from day one the new staff member will be ready to contribute to the company, that the post-employment support systems are in place and that the company has adequate cultural awareness training,” Mr Donovan said.

The Australian Government has committed up to $45 million for VTECs to place up to 5,000 Indigenous job seekers into guaranteed jobs across Australia.

The 28 VTECs are located in Sydney, Hunter region NSW, South Coast NSW and Western NSW, Brisbane, North and Central Qld, Darwin, Alice Springs, the Barkley Region NT, Victoria, Tasmania, Adelaide and regional areas of SA, Perth, Kalgoorlie, Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of WA.

Locations of Vocational Training and Employment Centres as at January 2015 in WA