Programmed in indigenous jobs committment

Employment provider Programmed hopes to increase the number of indigenous employees in the national workforce by 5,000 within a decade, the company said at an announcement with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Generation One founder Andrew Forrest in Canberra today.

Programmed’s plan will require investment to develop a larger pipeline of workforce-ready indigenous candidates including scholarships in schools, a partnership with the Clontarf Foundation and development of prison employment programs.

There would also be partnerships and commitments with other organisations such as Generation One, AFL SportsReady and Indigenous procurement providers such as Muru.

Programmed managing director Chris Sutherland said it was important the diversity of the company’s workforce reflected the communities it operated in.

Mr Forrest, who in 2014 released the ‘Forrest Report into Indigenous welfare’, said the pledge was a new benchmark for the private sector, and that he was inspired by the move.

“I call on the Australian government and business community to continue to reflect on their own capacity to increase indigenous participation in the workforce,” he said.

“Employment is a fundamental part of closing the gap and every opportunity counts.

“We thank the government for their continued support of indigenous job seekers and employers through the Vocational Training and Employment Centres program and the employment parity initiative.

“Parity can be achieved in our generation if we do this together.’’

The federal government has a long-term target to award 3 per cent of its contracts to indigenous groups.

A recent KPMG report suggested that the government had currently achieved a level of 2.9 per cent.