Jobs For The Mob

"Employment, I suppose, is our initial outcome. Gaining the things that come with employment, too. You know, wealth, self-esteem, a sense of who you are", says course manager Rohan Tobler.

Auskar Surbakti went on the job to meet some young graduates constructing more than just buildings: their futures.

TRANSCRIPT

The once-booming construction industry has been hit hard by the global recession, as funding for new developments becomes increasingly scarce. But there's one training ground that seems to be defying the trend. Graduates of the Koori Job Ready program in Sydney are still being snapped up by builders, and Living Black's Auskar Surbakti went to find out why.

VOICEOVER: Times may be tough for the construction industry, but Chevy Phillips and Jordan Lord have each secured jobs on a large-scale development. They're working on a 12-storey construction site in Sydney that's due to be completed early next year. 20-year-old Chevy Phillips is an apprentice carpenter on the project. He started work last month.

CHEVY PHILLIPS, APPRENTICE CARPENTER: We're doing the ceilings of every floor. We put up the steelwork first and then we put the Gyprocking on.

VOICEOVER: Chevy found the experience a steep learning curve, but an experience he's been looking forward to. For 17-year-old Jordan, this is his first full-time job and two weeks on, he's still a little daunted by it.

JORDAN LORD, LABOURER: A bit nerve-racking! Scary, eh? Just coming here, working every day, seeing all the people Hanging out with men, that's weird - full-grown men, yeah.

VOICEOVER: The two young men are both graduates of the Koori Job Ready course, based in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. Run by the Redfern-Waterloo Authority, it's an 8-week program that provides Indigenous students with the opportunity to learn construction skills. Rohan Tobler now runs the course, which was started by his father, Les, five years ago, with one main aim.

ROHAN TOBLER, COURSE MANAGER: Employment, I suppose, is our initial outcome. Gaining the things that come with employment, too - you know, wealth, self-esteem, a sense of who you are.

VOICEOVER: The program attracts students from all over New South Wales.

ROHAN TOBLER: They come from backgrounds with different social problems - drugs, alcohol, domestic violence. Some come from backgrounds that don't have problems like that at all - you know, it's diverse where they come from.

VOICEOVER: The course has formed partnerships with various employers in the construction industry. While most businesses have been enthusiastic about taking on graduates, some have been initially reluctant.

RYAN JACKSON, TEACHER: Well, I think once they do get guys on site and they can kind of realise they do have a solid knowledge base and they do have a solid skill base and that they're willing to work and they get in there and give it a go and things like that, yeah, I think that's changed their opinion quite a great deal.

VOICEOVER: John Currenti is a project manager with Watpac, a construction company that has dozens of workers from the Job Ready program on its books. Watpac first became involved with the course last year and has since hired more graduates.

JOHN CURRENTI, WATPAC PROJECT MANAGER: The training skills that the guys pick up before they get to the site here is good and complements what we do every day of the week.

VOICEOVER: And he's urged other companies to come on board.

JOHN CURRENTI: The construction industry across Australia employs more than any other industry, so if we participate in the plan, we've got the best potential to offer jobs to any Indigenous employee out there.

VOICEOVER: It's a view shared by other businesses as well. And this is where graduates of Job Ready will hopefully end up - construction sites where they'll be able to further develop and hone their skills. Over the years, more and more companies have come on board to support the program. That's good news for new Job Ready students Matthew Dos Santos and Matt Chester. 26-year-old Matthew has already worked in construction, but wants to boost his skills and become more qualified.

MATTHEW DOS SANTOS, STUDENT: I'd like to get an apprenticeship out of it, if I can, and get a bit more permanent work. It's good to build up confidence in blokes that haven't had a go before and who sort of wanna have a go at it before they go out to get a job.

VOICEOVER: Matt Chester had his previous training cut short and hopes this program will get him back on track.

MATT CHESTER, STUDENT: Getting back into my apprenticeship which I've already started and becoming a full-fledged tradie and hopefully starting up my own business to give other people a helping hand.

VOICEOVER: Meanwhile, Chevy and Jordan's work on the Sydney construction site is fast taking shape and their dreams of a long-term future in the industry no longer seem like a tall order.

Source: Living Black, SBS http://news.sbs.com.au/livingblack/jobs_for_the_mob_563656