Bank Creates 400 Jobs for Indigenous Aussies

A major Australian bank has signed a contract that will see it employ at least 400 indigenous Australians.

Westpac announced today that it had signed a 10 year contract with CareerTrackers’ Indigenous Internship program to recruit at least 40 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander university interns each year for the next decade.

Westpac says this is the largest commitment to the CareerTrackers program by an Australian corporate.  

Westpac Group’s Christine Parker, Group Executive Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, said the initiative was part of the Group’s plans to create meaningful career opportunities for Indigenous Australians, as outlined in its 2014-17 Reconciliation Action Plan.

“This agreement marks a significant milestone in our relationship with CareerTrackers and in our commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to prosper and grow,” Parker said.

“Since becoming a foundation partner of CareerTrackers in 2011, we’ve been impressed by the value it has created for the 45 talented young Indigenous students who have come through Westpac, eager to embark on their careers.

“It’s also given us a great opportunity to tap into some of the best university students in Australia, with some of our interns now full time employees with us.

“Dialling up the number of our interns so significantly over the coming decade will help open doors for many more talented Indigenous students, many of whom we hope will enjoy long successful careers with Westpac Group.”

CareerTrackers CEO Michael Combs welcomed the partnership with Westpac.

“The ongoing, long term commitment announced by Westpac today is a reflection of the positive results and great momentum CareerTrackers is continuing to achieve,” Combs said.

“It also provides certainty that a further 400 Indigenous students will benefit from accelerating their professional development, opening doors to careers following their passions, participating in tailored development training and contributing to their communities.

“This agreement puts us well on track to meeting our aim to have 300 ‘alumni’ by 2017 – having both graduated from university and CareerTrackers.”

Westpac’s announcement comes days before the largest gathering of Indigenous university students at CareerTrackers’ annual National Conference. During the four day event, 350 interns from all over Australia will hear from speakers and undertake personal and professional development to help equip them become leaders in their chosen fields and communities.  

CareerTrackers is a national Not for Profit organisation that creates cadetship opportunities with the private sector for talented Indigenous Australian university students. The organisation recruits Indigenous university students and places them with private sector employers to participate in multi-year cadetships.

By 2017 they expect to have 300 “alumni” – having both graduated from university and CareerTrackers.