Indigenous mining jobs through e-learning

A new e-learning resource has so far helped 27 indigenous people get jobs in the mining and civil construction industries.

The Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM has been designed for indigenous learners and uses diagrams, voice-overs, animation, tick-sheets and culturally appropriate language.

The Myuma Aboriginal Corporation, based in Camooweal in Queensland, identified a need to provide pre-employment skills to indigenous people in north-west Queensland.

A successful funding application to the Indigenous Engagement Project of the national training system's e-learning strategy, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (Framework), led to the creation of the CD-ROM to support training at the Myuma camp.

"Through our new e-learning centre and the Jobs for our Mob CD-ROM, our trainees are gaining a trade qualification that makes them competitive on the open market," Myuma managing director, Colin Saltmere said.

The CD-ROM helps trainees understand what is important to them in terms of their culture and wellbeing; supports them in gaining life skills to reach their goals; and explains what it is like to be in a workplace.

So far, 27 trainees have successfully completed the course and gained employment in the mining and civil construction industries. There is a further commitment from industry to take on more trainees.

The Framework's Indigenous Engagement Project Manager, Rhonda Appo said the CD-ROM could be tailored to any community, industry or vocational area.

"It can be delivered in any dialect, which is important given a lot of people living in remote Indigenous communities do not have English as their first or even their second language," Appo said.

For more information about the Jobs for our Mob project visit: www.flexiblelearning.net.au/indigenous.