Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for

Aboriginal people

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people2

Mal Wauchope Public Sector Commissioner

Rebecca Harris Director of Equal Opportunity in

Public Employment

Foreword

We acknowledge the traditional custodians throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to their cultures and to elders past and present.

The journey to date

Australian governments at all levels have a long history of developing policy to improve the economic participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who we respectfully refer to as Aboriginal people throughout the Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people.

As public authorities are part of the largest group of employers in Western Australia we can contribute in a meaningful way to the achievement of employment outcomes for Aboriginal people. We need Aboriginal people in public employment—in a wide range of roles and at all levels. By providing improved employment opportunities, public authorities are able to contribute to ‘closing the gap’ in economic participation for Aboriginal people.

Individually and collectively we are committed to growing and developing a talented and versatile Aboriginal workforce across public authorities. Over the last three years our public sector has made good progress in employing Aboriginal trainees, and retaining them upon the successful completion of their traineeship, across a range of agencies. Given the strong link between education and employment, we will continue to support entry-level and other employment programs to attract Aboriginal people and to build capability of Aboriginal employees from the grassroots level.

Evaluation and consultation have revealed the challenge is in advancing Aboriginal talent and improving the representation of Aboriginal people at all levels of public employment, particularly in leadership roles. It is crucial, for public sector stewardship, that we work towards advancing the careers of Aboriginal employees within public employment and developing Aboriginal leaders.

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people 3

The strategy

The strategy provides a cohesive set of actions to assist public authorities to attract, appoint and advance Aboriginal people—which require innovative approaches.

We strongly encourage public authorities to better understand the barriers to employment for Aboriginal people and to reduce these through contemporary and flexible human resource approaches. Creating employment opportunities for Aboriginal people in regional Western Australia is a critical part of ‘closing the gap’. In the regions, where talent pools are smaller and jobs are less plentiful, leaders and workforce managers are encouraged to ‘think outside the square’ to attract Aboriginal people to public employment. Through regional services reform we will support those with a significant workforce in the regions to pursue strategies to create job opportunities for local Aboriginal people.

We must continue to work towards creating culturally inclusive workplaces, with culturally competent staff delivering culturally responsive services. Public authorities that act in this way, and provide real outcomes for the community, are naturally more attractive places for Aboriginal people to work.

While our expectations of you are high, you can be assured we will work collaboratively to influence, advocate and bring prominence to Aboriginal employment, leadership and diversity through our interactions with public authorities, community organisations and prospective employees.

Improved Aboriginal employment and advancement will only be achieved with your active support and commitment. We encourage all public authorities to set challenging objectives and take real action to substantially improve Aboriginal employment and career advancement opportunities.

The onus to take-up the challenge of improving representation lies with Chief Executives and Chief Human Resource Officers – the time for action is now.

Our collective goals are to achieve greater retention and sustainable improvement in the representation of Aboriginal employees at all levels.

To assist you to achieve our collective goals, the strategy sets out three key priorities.

These three priorities cannot be implemented in isolation. They should be seen as mutual cultural markers encompassing a career pathway, progressing from employment through to leadership. The strategy guides public authorities to attract, appoint and advance.

Attract Aboriginal people to work in public employment.

Appoint Aboriginal people to positions commensurate with their skills and expertise in a fair and equitable manner.

Advance the careers of Aboriginal employees and develop Aboriginal leaders for effective public sector stewardship.

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people4

Attract Appoint

Advance

Our collective goals

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people 5

Objectives • To promote the wider public sector as a workplace of choice for Aboriginal people.

• To create culturally secure and inclusive workplace environments.

Actions • Build effective relationships, networks and

partnerships.

• Develop and utilise culturally appropriate communication strategies.

• Critically analyse workplace environments.

• Sponsor targeted employment programs, particularly at middle to senior levels.

• Provide workplace flexibility.

• Integrate cultural awareness principles into management development and induction programs.

Impact • Improved visibility of public authorities

across Aboriginal communities.

• Attraction of new Aboriginal employees.

• Workplaces are more culturally appropriate for Aboriginal employees.

• Aboriginal people are provided with developmental benefits.

• Aboriginal employees are better able to meet their cultural obligations.

• Aboriginal employees and clients’ cultural needs are respected and supported.

Attract

Attraction of Aboriginal employees is enriched by public authorities who foster workplaces that are seen to be culturally secure, supporting the cultural needs of their Aboriginal employees and clients. Acting with a deep understanding of Aboriginal cultural obligations and respect for Aboriginal culture and heritage creates an environment that will attract and contribute to the employment experience of potential and existing Aboriginal employees.

Objectives, key actions and their impact

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people6

Objectives • To achieve more equitable representation of Aboriginal employees at all levels to create a

workforce reflective of the community it serves.

• To promote greater understanding and application of measures to achieve equality available under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and the policy framework for substantive equality.

• To increase the employment of Aboriginal people in regional Western Australia.

Actions • Incorporate measures to achieve equality

and employment flexibility as part of innovative recruitment practices.

• Design and implement culturally appropriate recruitment and selection practices.

• Use mentor and peer support programs for new employees.

• Offer a range of entry opportunities for Aboriginal employees particularly at middle to senior levels.

Impact • Appointment of more Aboriginal

employees.

• A level playing field is achieved for Aboriginal applicants for positions across Western Australia.

• Aboriginal people are better supported when joining public employment.

• Aboriginal people occupy positions across all levels in public employment.

Appointment of Aboriginal people requires an innovative, flexible and culturally appropriate approach, while ensuring appointments are made commensurate with the required level of skill. An approach that embraces substantive equality principles, and provides support, will contribute to improving the representation of Aboriginal people as employees in public authorities.

Objectives, key actions and their impact

Appoint

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people 7

Objectives • To raise the representation rate of Aboriginal employees in leadership roles in public employment.• To equip Aboriginal employees with the skills and experience to become effective leaders.• To create career pathways in senior and executive roles for Aboriginal employees.• To recognise the achievements of Aboriginal leaders and enable them to champion and support

the advancement of other Aboriginal employees.

Actions • Provide Aboriginal employees with access

to experiential learning opportunities that 'stretch' their development.

• Allocate resources towards professional and leadership development for Aboriginal employees.

• Engage with Aboriginal employees in the design, development and delivery of professional development programs and succession plans.

• Raise the profile of Aboriginal employees and leaders as positive role models.

• Establish interagency forums and other initiatives.

Impact • Creation of career pathways to transition

into leadership roles.

• Capability development of Aboriginal employees.

• Development opportunities that best meet the needs of Aboriginal people.

• Greater visibility of Aboriginal employees.

• Increased understanding of Aboriginal issues in public sector delivery and engagement.

Advance

Advancing Aboriginal careers and developing Aboriginal leaders is important for effective public sector stewardship and critical in shaping and designing services for all Western Australians.

Aboriginal employees have indicated a clear preference for the 70:20:10 learning and development model. This model recognises the importance of experiential learning and the value of connecting and networking with other leaders will create leadership capabilities and opportunities for career advancement and retention of Aboriginal leaders.

Objectives, key actions and their impact

We are committed to assisting public authorities to improve their employment outcomes for Aboriginal people in public employment. We will do the following to facilitate improvement in employment outcomes.

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people8

• Monitor progress of the strategy through the Public Sector Commission Advisory Board.

• Promote culturally inclusive workplaces though the cultural competency framework.

• Provide entry-level employment opportunities by providing a centrally-funded public sector traineeship program for Aboriginal people.

• Sponsor leadership development opportunities for Aboriginal employees.

• Connect Aboriginal employees across sectors.

• Coordinate avenues to share lessons learned and success stories.

• Raise awareness about the role that unconscious bias plays in public employment and ways to reduce it.

• Collaborate with the Regional Services Reform Unit to assist those with a significant regional workforce to implement the Regional Aboriginal Employment Package.

• Work collaboratively to influence, advocate and bring prominence to Aboriginal employment through interactions with public authorities, community organisations and prospective employees.

NOW HIRING

Our commitment

The success of the strategy will be determined by how effective we are in achieving improvements against the following benchmarks.

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people 9

• Meeting or exceeding the goal of 3.2% of Aboriginal people represented in public employment.

• Increasing the representation of Aboriginal people at all levels within your authority.

• Increasing the number of authorities who have developed and implemented cultural capability frameworks, guides or activities.

• Increasing the representation of Aboriginal people employed at all levels across regional Western Australia.

• Increasing the number of employees who have completed the Public Sector Commission online cultural awareness module entitled Sharing Culture: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Measuring success

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people10

Ms Bynder is a Ballardong Noongar yorga from the Eastern wheat belt region of Western Australia. Her earliest influence was her uncle—Mr Charles Pickett, a self-taught Noongar artist who paints in the Carrolup art style—who introduced Ms Bynder to art.

As a modern Aboriginal woman Ms Bynder is enthused by the change in direction of today’s Aboriginal Australian artists—from traditional dot painting phenomena of the past to the more expressive gestural styles that suggests a desire to simultaneously maintain culture and heritage, whilst conceptualising and promoting understanding and awareness of an evolving living society.

Ms Bynder’s passion is to educate the wider community to the richness and diversity of Aboriginal art, culture and heritage. Ms Bynder has a strong connection to Noongar boodja (Noongar land).

The artwork represents the Commission and its outreach to other public entities. The Commission—located on Wadjuk, Noongar Country (boodja)—overlooks the Swan River (Derbarl Yerrigan).

The colours of the Noongar boodja, (original inhabitants of the south west of Western Australia) are used to represent the beautiful waterways, rivers, and estuaries, as well as the landscapes that the south west has to offer.

Barbara Bynder Aboriginal artist

Ms Bynder’s representation of the

role of the Public Sector Commission

The Public Sector Commission acknowledges Ms Barbara Bynder, whose work has been reproduced in this document and has inspired the visual message of the Commission Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people.

Artist profile

Attract, appoint and advance: An employment strategy for Aboriginal people 11

Enquiries:

Public Sector Commission Dumas House, 2 Havelock Street, West Perth WA 6005Locked Bag 3002, West Perth WA 6872Telephone: (08) 6552 8500 Fax: (08) 6552 8501 Email: admin@psc.wa.gov.auWebsite: www.publicsector.wa.gov.au

© State of Western Australia 2016

There is no objection to this publication being copied in whole or part, provided there is due acknowledgement of any material quoted or reproduced.

Published by the Public Sector Commission, October 2016.

This publication is available on the Public Sector Commission website at www.publicsector.wa.gov.au.

DisclaimerThe Western Australian Government is committed to quality service to its customers and makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of the information contained in this publication. However, changes in circumstances over time may impact on the veracity of this information.

AccessibilityCopies of this publication are available in alternative formats upon request.