ALA

The Split Rock Inca Alliance, comprising Queensland Main Roads Department, Seymour Whyte Construction and Myuma Pty Ltd, an Aboriginal owned company, won the inaugural Premier’s Innovation in Skilling Award at last nights Queensland Training Awards 2007. 

This award was presented in recognition for an organisation or partnership that has demonstrated the spirit of the Queensland Skills Plan. 

A key resource of the Split Rock Inca Alliance’s innovative training and development program is Jobs for our Mob, an interactive CD-ROM designed to support the recruitment of Indigenous trainees into the mining and civil construction sectors.  

The Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM was developed in collaboration with the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, Department of Main Roads, Department of Education, Training and the Arts, and the federal Community Development Employment Program. 

The Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM is used to help Indigenous people develop skills and gain employment in industries that are suffering chronic skills shortages. Initial results indicate a high degree of success generating employment opportunities. 

It engages indigenous participants through the use of multimedia resources featuring virtual worksites, safety practise, and animations, all using culturally suitable language.  

Myuma Managing Director Colin Saltmere said there was a big void of all labour types in these industries right across the country.  

“There’s lots of work with the construction and mining sector in
Queensland,” said Mr Saltmere. “Our mobs have been sitting there for a long time and people have been ignoring them. We want to see them out there and holding their heads up high in society through real work. 

“Through our new e-learning centre, the Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM, and Work Ready Programs, our trainees are gaining a trade qualification that makes them competitive on the open market.” 

The Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM was funded by the Indigenous Engagement Project of the national training system’s e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. 

The Queensland Training Awards recognise achievements in the vocational education and training sector by rewarding the state’s top apprentices, trainees, vocational students, school-based students, training providers, employers and organisations.To obtain a free copy of the Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM, email: indigenous@flexiblelearning.net.auFor more information about the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, telephone (07) 3307 4700, email: enquiries@flexiblelearning.net.au or visit: http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au