The NCIE formally celebrated of the handover of the formerly NSW government run Koori Job Ready training program at Yamma Dhiyaan.
NCIE’s veteran teachers in the Koori Job Ready program Aunty Beryl Van Oploo and Les Tobler were two very happy Elders on Thursday last week as they along with our partners from Lend Lease, Qantas, the Sydney Kings, TAFE, Carriageworks, Talent2 and the CFMEU celebrated the handover of the program to entirely Indigenous ownership and control with the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.
The evening began as NCIE’s General Manager Rohan Tobler acknowledged the hard work and the legacies of Aunty Beryl and Uncle Les to respectively initiate the 8 week hospitality and construction training courses that Koori Job Ready runs.
For the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) the opportunity to support and deliver more life changing training and job experiences for young Indigenous people through the handover of the Koori Job Ready (KJR) program confirms its commitment to providing more employment and training opportunities for Indigenous youth.
Jason Glanville, the CEO of The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, says the Koori Job Ready program is expected to create up to 1,000 opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the next three years.
“The Koori Job Ready program isn’t just about creating jobs for our young Indigenous people. It is about creating pathways to successful careers and changing the opportunity profile for Indigenous Australians all across Australia,” says Jason.
Gamilaroi Elder Aunty Beryl is a great role model of excellence for our youth being the major driving force behind KJR’s Yaama Dhiyaan Hospitality Training Centre. She is a respected leader who has lived and worked in the Redfern community for over 50 years. Aunty Beryl is not only a teacher but an entrepreneur who runs the Gardener’s Lodge café and has recently acquired the Purple Goanna café in Sydney’s CBD. Having started her formal education at the age of 31, through TAFE, Aunty Beryl is a perfect example of how education can change lives, create employment opportunities and successful career and business pathways.
Wanyurr Majay / Yidinji Elder Uncle Les Tobler founded Koori Job Ready’s construction arm in 2000 after working as a bricklayer since he arrived in Sydney in the late 50s. The Les Tobler Construction Centre for training in the construction, rail and aviation industries is co-located with Yaama Dhiyan at Carriageworks in Redfern.
“I wouldn’t be in the successful business position I’m in today without formalising my education in nutrition and budget cooking in 1988. The Koori Job Ready program has already done so much in helping restore confidence in our young people to educate themselves and create their own opportunities; the sky is the limit for how this program can grow under the NCIE,” Aunty Beryl said.