As the Managing Director of West to West Indigenous, Bianca Clark has built a career on providing sustainable employment and business opportunities to Indigenous people. A proud Noongar and Wongi woman, Bianca is passionate about contributing to a society where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the same opportunities as non-Indigenous people.
Her company has been delivering services across an extensive array of construction, maintenance, and cladding projects since 2020, bridging the gap between Indigenous people’s employment and business opportunities while strengthening relationships between Indigenous and non Indigenous peoples. Recent high-end fitouts, such as AECOM’s corporate head office in Perth, and the under-construction 1TE Childcare fitout, highlight the evolution of the business within this period.
In her role at West to West Indigenous, Bianca works to be an inspiring role model to the younger generations. On all of her projects, she educates non-Indigenous team members about Aboriginal culture. She has aspirations to create in the near future a unique training programme that introduces Indigenous people to the building industry, thereby creating more opportunities for Indigenous people to have successful careers in the industry.
“My role at West to West Indigenous involves overseeing all business operations, ensuring that the company is prioritising Indigenous suppliers and contractors, and engaging with Indigenous businesses and communities in our projects,” Bianca says.
“I’m determined to raise awareness of the great skill set that Indigenous people have and provide them with opportunities to succeed. I feel I have an obligation to pay forward opportunities to my people and elevate them in all aspects of life.”
To ensure that local, Indigenous suppliers and contractors are prioritised, Bianca and her team involve themselves with local events, to learn more about the community and ensure a diverse mix of employees and contracts for every project.
West to West Indigenous ensures that its operations are respectful of Indigenous culture and heritage by providing cultural awareness training to all staff and workers to make sure they are culturally competent and understand Indigenous culture and the land they walk on.
“West to West Indigenous is a great place to work for Indigenous people, because of its respectful workplace culture,” Bianca explains. “Non-Indigenous employees are culturally trained to understand Indigenous history.”
Bianca sees the biggest challenge facing Indigenous people in the construction, fitout, and maintenance industries as having to prove themselves. She personally had to face the challenge of being an Aboriginal woman, carrying a stigma that required proving her capabilities.
“West to West Indigenous is addressing these challenges by consistently providing opportunities for Indigenous people to succeed and creating a welcoming workplace culture for Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees.”
Bianca advises other companies looking to improve their engagement with Indigenous communities and businesses to attend Indigenous events and learn about traditional lands. Indigenous directories online can also help filter what Indigenous businesses are available, providing more opportunities for collaboration.
West to West Indigenous engages with Indigenous businesses and communities in its projects and is looking to expand its footprint to collaborate with traditional owners in the Pilbara region. As a result, Bianca and West to West Indigenous Owner Director Michael O’Sullivan have been visiting the Pilbara region, looking for appropriate opportunities for joint ventures with Traditional Owners.
“The aim is to upskill Aboriginal people and give them employment opportunities, addressing the gap in the Pilbara for Aboriginal people as well as the metro areas,” Bianca says. “It’s good to see companies starting to have policies and practices in place to support Aboriginal procurement policies, as it shows respect to Traditional Owners.”
West to West Indigenous is also working hard to make a positive impact in communities such as those in the Pilbara region.
As part of the commitment to empowering and supporting Indigenous communities in the Pilbara region, West to West Indigenous has recently completed a noteworthy project. As part of their latest initiative, the organization undertook the task of delivering furniture to various Indigenous communities and schools in the area. This project was aimed at improving the living and learning conditions of the Indigenous population in the region.
“Providing computer chairs and desks to underprivileged Indigenous children has made a big impact in helping them be more comfortable in their learning environment,” Bianca adds.
