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Remote training hubs to support First Nations people in Central Australia
Freya Lucas
Feb 15, 2024
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The Federal Government is improving access to education, training and employment in the Northern Territory with a $30 million boost over five years to deliver a Remote Training Hubs Network to First Nations people in Central Australia.
The initiative follows community consultations undertaken by Commonwealth officials, the Northern Territory Government and the Office of the Central Australia Regional Controller and responds to advice from the Central Australia Plan Aboriginal Leadership Group.“People living in remote communities have had limited access to training and employment opportunities. This will be a changer,” Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Hon Linda Burney MP said.
The hubs are part of a wider $250 million investment and support two of the six action areas identified under the ‘A Better, Safer Future for Central Australia’ plan - job creation and on-Country learning.
Up to seven hubs will be established as part of the initiative, with the first two services to be established in Yuendumu and Ntaria, subject to ongoing community workforce planning and engagement.
Work will only proceed at these locations following detailed and genuine engagement with communities, and once they are comfortable the initiative will meet their specific needs.
“All Australians have a right to education, training and employment. It is our responsibility to ensure that accessibility and quality is not limited to those living in larger, more developed parts of the country,” Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Brendan O’Connor said.
“Over the years, there have been many strategies to achieve access and equity in education and training for rural and regional Australia. Despite efforts based on expertise, goodwill and a spirit of cooperation, past promises have not always lived up to the rhetoric.”
"This partnership in consultation with the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Central Australia Plan Aboriginal Leadership Group and the Northern Territory Government places the needs of this community first to obtain the skills to participate and prosper in the modern economy.”
The Remote Training Hubs Network will help Central Australian First Nations people access on-Country vocational education and training that meets community needs and leads to local, sustainable jobs.
The hubs’ design and training offerings will be informed by place-based, aspirational five-year workforce plans developed with communities.
Mentors and community advisors will be engaged to support the hubs and community members to help realise community aspirations for jobs and enterprise development.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, National Indigenous Australians Agency and Northern Territory Government will work with Central Australian communities to establish the hubs.
This approach differs from historical top-down models. Instead, it aligns with a clear message from community consultations that these responses must be designed and done ‘with’, rather than ‘to’, communities.
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