Through our participation in the Australian Government Community Development Programme (CDP) our staff, located in seven communities across the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands), work with job seekers to support, educate, mentor and supervise them through activities to improve the facilities in their communities while increasing their employment opportunities.
Community safety
Our pathway coaches and activity supervisors attend monthly council meetings in the communities to consult with members about what jobs the communities need.
Recently restoration of church seating completed in Indulkana by CDP participants resulted in seats of a much higher community safety standard.
Job seekers continue to regularly undertake general grounds keeping to ensure community areas are kept clean and tidy to ensure they are safe to enter and exit.
Partnering with educators
As part of Skill Hire’s commitment to ensuring eligible job seekers are more employable, our staff have been working with On The Right Track in many communities to help them gain their drivers licences.
With the road improvements progressing from Indulkana to Mimili, the Skill Hire team have been preparing for pending work and have referred job seekers to TAFE SA to obtain their tickets.
A variety of TAFE SA sessions including developing a family tree, learning about electric circuitry and identifying native plants have also been arranged for CDP participants.
Assisting the younger generations to care for seniors
To improve community spirit during the cold winter months job seekers have been assisting the elderly with fire wood collection, yard maintenance and minor housing repairs which all help towards improving the overall safety of properties.
In the Pipalyatjara community the younger CDP participants have engaged with elders in spear making which ensures learning traditional techniques to make the spear correctly is handed down the generations.
Educating about financial literacy, budgeting and banking
The Ernabella job seekers have enjoyed our partnership with Money Mob where they recently attended and were educated about financial literacy, budgeting and banking. This forms an important activity to assisting job seekers to prepare for employment.
Improving literacy and numeracy skills
CDP participants have been involved in TAFE SA sessions learning how to prepare resumes.
Other recent activities have included measuring and cutting timber to the correct length which develops literacy and numeracy skills.
Amata community has been provided with educational sessions to learn about designing maps, reading and understanding instructions about how to use a GPS. Various methods of teaching are used including text books, pictures and diagrams.
Taking responsibility for the future
An initiative by the Skill Hire team is to help job seekers to erect a structure in the Fregon community to install washing machines which sees the people of the community gain access to basic health and hygiene.
In Umuwa ‘Responding to Abuse and Neglect’ training has provided our RSAS team with the knowledge and procedures in the role they play in preventing and responding to abuse and neglect.
When our own employment vacancies arise Skill Hire aims to employ successful CDP participants as 2ICs to their pathway coaches and activity supervisors to inspire them to move forward within their own communities.
