Issue 1
Indigenous workforce participation
February 2012
APS Human Capital Matters: Indigenous Workforce Participation
January 2012, Issue 1
Editor’s note to readers
Welcome to the first edition of Human Capital Matters for 2012—the digest for time poor
leaders and practitioners with an interest in human capital and organisational capability. This
edition focuses on the challenges of Indigenous participation in the APS.
The APS has long held the twin goals of a workforce selected on merit that is also broadly
representative of the community it represents. While it has been largely successful in the former,
the latter has proved difficult to achieve, particularly in the area of participation of Indigenous
Australians. The graph below shows that, despite agencies implementing a broad range of
strategies in conjunction with an APS-wide Indigenous employment strategy delivered by the
Australian Public Service Commission, the rate of participation by Indigenous Australians in the
APS continues to decrease.
There are a number of complex issues involved in indigenous workforce participation and the
papers canvassed in this issue of Human Capital Matters reflects these:
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The Australian National Audit Office conducted an audit of the success of Australian
government programs in supporting Indigenous workforce participation. Although not
focussed on public sector employment, the report identified a number of prerequisites
necessary for the ongoing success of the programs.
Kristine Giddy and her co-authors Jessica Lopez and Anne Redman identify a set of
factors that contribute to successful employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Australians as well as a number of barriers to achieving Indigenous
workforce participation.
Boyd Hunter demonstrates the link between community capacity and workforce
participation in his paper which looks at the impact of macroeconomic factors on
Indigenous employment. Critically, he identifies the long-term benefits of community
capacity-building for workforce participation.
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Nola Purdie and her three co-authors draw on a wide range of literature to provide an
overview of the barriers to, and drivers of, successful recruitment and retention of
indigenous employees and fit these into a framework based on the concepts of coherence,
collaboration, and commitment.
The work of Lori Ann Roness and Mary Collier, commissioned by the Canadian
Government, examines the effectiveness of Indigenous labour force participation
strategies in Canada. They found that a cohesive definition of ‘labour force participation
strategy’ is largely absent from the debate and that participation strategies are only one
element in Aboriginal advancement that requires a holistic approach.
Robert Vurens van Es and A. M. Dockery examine the link between social capital and
workforce participation levels Indigenous communities. Social capital theory, although
relatively new, is considered particularly relevant in looking at Indigenous workforce
participation because of its explicit recognition of both the role and value of culture in
Indigenous workforce participation.
About Human Capital Matters
Human Capital Matters seeks to provide APS leaders and practitioners with easy access to the
issues of contemporary importance in public and private sector human capital and organisational
capability. It has been designed to provide interested readers with a monthly guide to the national
and international ideas that are shaping human capital thinking and practice.
Comments and suggestions welcome
Thank you to those who took the time to provide feedback on earlier editions of Human Capital
Matters. Comments, suggestions or questions regarding this publication are always welcome and
should be addressed to: humancapitalmatters@apsc.gov.au. Readers can also subscribe to the
mailing list through this email address.
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), ‘Indigenous Employment in
Government Service Delivery’, Performance Audit Report No. 4 2011–12,
Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 2011, 120 pp.
The report assesses the effectiveness of DEEWR’s and FaHCSIA’s administration of the
Australian Government’s responsibilities under Element 1 of the National Partnership
Agreement on Indigenous Economic Participation. The Agreement, which is designed to
contribute to meeting Closing the Gap initiative targets, involves complementary investment and
effort by the Commonwealth, states and territories to improve opportunities for Indigenous
Australians to engage in private and public sector employment. Element 1 (of four Agreement
Elements) focuses on creating real, sustainable employment in areas of government service
delivery that have previously relied on subsidisation through the Community Development
Employment Projects (CDEP) program (established in 1977).
As part of its audit, the ANAO identified specific Australian Government programs and
locations in the National Jobs Creation Package (NJCP) and the NT Jobs package, and used them
as the basis for case studies. The analysis concentrated on jobs created in the arts, culture,
broadcasting, aged care and education support sectors as well as the Indigenous ranger service.
The audit’s scope did not include the identification and creation of jobs by state and territory
governments or job creation in the Torres Strait Islands. The ANAO found that, in delivering the
jobs packages, DEEWR and FaHCSIA had provided effective coordination and direction, which
resulted in jobs being delivered within relatively short timeframes.
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The audit also concluded that the transition of CDEP activities into mainstream jobs placed an
administrative burden on service providers who were required to support staff in meeting new
workplace expectations and training demands. To address this issue, the ANAO recommended
that relevant departments should in future provide information to employers and employees,
which assists them in connecting to relevant services and opportunities. In addition, the report’s
authors concluded that, because the NJCP and NT Jobs Package are, together, only one element
of a broader strategy, attention should be given to periodically assessing the necessary
prerequisites for the ongoing success of the packages. These prerequisites include: the jobs being
maintained and filled by Indigenous Australians, with appropriate wages and conditions being
provided; the provision of ongoing funding with appropriate increases to take account of upskilling through on-the-job experience and training; an assessment of retention levels to
determine the impact on Indigenous employment outcomes; and continued pre- and postemployment support to employers and employees as necessary.
The ANAO concluded that, although these factors would be taken into account in departmental
risk management frameworks, their importance to the longer-term success of the jobs packages
is a strong argument for including them in the planned review of the National Partnership
Agreement on Indigenous Economic Participation and in ongoing reporting to the Council of
Australian Governments (COAG).
The Australian National Audit Office is an independent public sector scrutiny agency headed by
the Auditor-General.
Kristine Giddy, Jessica Lopez and Anne Redman, ‘Brokering Successful
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Outcomes: Common
Themes in Good-Practice Models’, Australian Government, Canberra, 2009
(report), 29 pp.
(A 12 pp ‘Support Document’ is also available. Both of these publications can be accessed by
title via the Internet. They are also available to National Centre for Vocational Education
Research (NCVER) subscribers at <http://www.ncver.edu.au>)
This report, undertaken by the Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia at the request
of the Adelaide-based National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), identifies
the key factors most likely to lead to successful employment outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Australians. Research for the study—overseen by the National VET Indigenous
Advisory Taskforce—drew on the experience of nine bodies (mainly employment services
organisations) operating in urban, regional and remote parts of Australia. Some were large (with
more than 140 employees nationally), while others were small (with four full-time staff). Several
organisations were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned and managed, and others were
not, although all had Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff.
In their research discussions with these organisations, the authors focused on nine factors
identified in earlier studies and evaluations as being important in building and maintaining
higher levels of Indigenous workplace participation: 1) targeted and integrated training; 2)
knowledge of client group and its context; 3) provision of mentoring and support; 4) partnerships
and connections; 5) community involvement; 6) skilled and dedicated staff; 7) specialist
strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; 8) innovation; and 9) promotion of
success.
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In the study the authors identified 11 factors which contribute significantly to improved
Indigenous workforce participation and divided them into two categories: Essential (seven
factors) ; and Desirable (four factors). They are set out below:
Essential
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having strong vision and understanding the importance of monitoring targets;
responding to the employment market;
maintaining strong relationships with the community and business;
offering ‘job related’ and culturally appropriate training;
collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and the community;
providing holistic support; and
ensuring strong staff commitment.
Desirable
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tailoring available funding to suit individual needs;
providing employment opportunities through internal enterprise;
learning from other organisations; and
having alternative sources of funding.
The study also contains a valuable outline of eleven interrelated factors which can act as barriers
to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workplace participation. The authors point out that these
obstacles differ between regions and communities and in many instances are influenced by the
type of economy that prevails. These factors are:
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level of job opportunities, especially in areas of ‘limited’ economies;
education and relevant training levels;
lack of experience;
poor health;
problems with alcohol, drugs and gambling;
aspirations to work and role models;
workplace culture and level of support for employees;
geographical isolation, transport and reluctance to leave the community for employment;
limited understanding by the corporate sector of how socioeconomic disadvantage affects
the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees;
the challenges involved in balancing family and community obligations with the demands
of work; and
access to organised childcare.
Many of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment organisations interviewed for the
report also face their own barriers in delivering sustainable employment outcomes. Principal
among these are: short-term funding; fragmentation of initiatives and lack of linkages; and
contracts that do not necessarily recognise qualitative objectives, such as the need to develop
better partnerships with key organisations.
The authors are on the staff of the Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia (Sydney).
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Boyd Hunter, ‘Revisiting the Relationship Between the Macroeconomy and
Indigenous Labour Force Status’, ‘Economic Papers’ (The Economic Society
of Australia),Vol. 29, No. 3, September 2010, pp. 320–332.
The author revisits the little-explored question first raised in Vol. 11 of the ‘Economic Papers’ in
1992 by J. C. Altman and A. E. Daly: ‘Do fluctuations in the macroeconomy influence
Aboriginal employment status?’ He finds that, although Indigenous Australians are now more
likely than they were twenty years ago to be employed in industries along with other Australians,
they are therefore less likely to be insulated from the business cycle, in particular major adverse
economic events (e.g. the Global Financial Crisis of 2008). Nevertheless, he argues that rising
levels of workforce participation is a positive development for Aboriginal people because it is
likely job incumbency means that they will benefit when conditions of sustained macroeconomic
growth return.
He points out, for example, that the buoyant economic conditions between 1996 and 2006 saw
Indigenous employment in the private sector converge fairly rapidly to the Australian average.
The author concedes that economic slow-downs undoubtedly hamper opportunities to improve
employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians. However, he emphasises that this accentuates
the need for ongoing educational and training investments aimed at ensuring that Indigenous
people are in a competitive position when economic growth resumes.
The author emphasises that ‘positive synergies’ between the greater commitment of particular
companies, wage subsidies and training tailored to employer needs may well continue to
improve Indigenous employment outcomes—with the proviso that this could not be guaranteed
within an adverse economic climate. In light of the positive private sector employment outcomes
for Indigenous Australians since the mid-1990s, and the Covenant initiative launched in October
2008 which has seen 10,000 jobs promised by employers, he is cautiously optimistic about
Indigenous employment prospects—even in today’s unpredictable economic environment.
Boyd Hunter is on the staff of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at The
Australian National University.
Nola Purdie, Tracey Frigo, Alison Stone and Wendy Dick, ‘Enhancing
Employment Opportunities for Indigenous Victorians: A Review of the
Literature’ (research paper), Australian Council for Educational Research
(ACER), Melbourne, March 2006 (report), 141 pp.
The paper draws on Victorian, Australian and international literature in order to provide an
overview of the barriers to, and drivers of, successful workforce participation for Indigenous
Victorians. The authors use the term ‘workforce participation’ interchangeably with
‘employment’ and interpret it broadly in the sense of including both initial engagement and
ongoing retention in work that is ‘mutually productive’ and ‘satisfying’ for both employer and
employee. The paper canvasses the plethora of material on this subject which has appeared over
the past three decades.
The literature review undertaken as part of the study identifies eight key factors, attention to
which the authors argue, will produce positive employment outcomes for Indigenous Victorians.
These are:
1. A clearly enunciated strategy and energetic marketing of it to all public sector bodies.
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2. Effective consultation and partnerships between Indigenous communities, government
and the public and private sectors—the most important of these eight factors, according
to the authors.
3. A focus on creating public sector employment opportunities in regional Victoria, using
Indigenous employment brokers who understand how to deal with the public service and
who have a close affinity with the area concerned.
4. A level of financial and human resources needed to implement employment improvement
initiatives successfully.
5. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms designed to assess progress, that are based on the
clear framework set out in the Victorian Government’s Indigenous Employment Strategy,
Wur-cum barra, which is centred on six key performance indicators: Capacity Building
and Pathways, Recruitment, Induction and Retention, Career Development, Workplace
Culture, and Indigenous Community Organisations.
6. Effective education and training frameworks comprising, for example, scholarships,
cadetships and in-service professional development opportunities.
7. Workplace practices that give appropriate attention to recruitment processes, career
development, flexibility and cultural awareness training.
8. Leadership that is committed to fostering change.
The authors suggest that these drivers can be encased within a ‘3-C’ framework: Coherence,
Collaboration, Commitment. They also emphasise that a coherent policy framework and
collaboration are needed to prevent fragmentation of effort and unclear delineation of functional
responsibilities across public sector agencies which have for so long impeded progress in the
area of Indigenous labour force participation.
The report was prepared by the authors on behalf of the Australian Council for Educational
Research (ACER) for the Victorian State Services Authority.
Lori Ann Roness Consulting and Mary Collier, ‘Assessing the Effectiveness of
Labour Force Participation Strategies’, Atlantic Policy Congress of First
Nations Chiefs Secretariat, (APCFNC), Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada,
March 2010, 318 pp (Report pp. 1–101; Appendices pp. 102–318).
The report is one of five reports on Aboriginal economic development in Canada released by the
Atlantic Aboriginal Economic Development Integrated Program (AAEDIRP) in 2010. The
AAEDIRP is a research initiative formed through partnerships between the 38 member
communities of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs (APCFNC), the Inuit
people, 12 Atlantic universities and four federal and provincial government bodies who provide
a substantial amount of funding for the initiative.
In 2008, the APCFNC commissioned the authors to examine the effectiveness of labour force
participation strategies directed towards Aboriginal people, with a particular focus on the
Atlantic region of Canada. Study outcomes have been organised along the lines of a seven-part
conceptual framework: 1) an adequately prepared Aboriginal labour force; 2) a sufficiently
prepared employer; 3) outreach, communication, and partnership between employers and the
Aboriginal community; 4) recruitment, application and job orientation; 5) employee retention; 6)
tracking participation; and 7) government policy and program issues. To achieve goals in these
areas, the authors make 40 recommendations for reform (summarised on pp. 4–7) . These
include:
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include a component in all training programs which relates to employer expectations and
employee conduct (Recommendation No. 6);
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provide regular cultural sensitivity and diversity training to all employees, including
management (Recommendation No. 11);
create a ‘future hiring needs’ plan that identifies anticipated recruitment needs and share
it with Aboriginal partners and communities (Recommendation No. 23);
establish a centralised Aboriginal human resources recruitment agency and database
(Recommendation No. 28);
incorporate career planning into performance reviews and include career counselling
(Recommendation No. 32);
measure and track Aboriginal labour force participation regularly (Recommendation No.
36); and
improve equity monitoring and enforcement (Recommendation No. 38).
The study findings are consistent with those revealed in the literature review. Prominent among
them is the conclusion that a cohesive definition of ‘labour force participation strategy’ is largely
absent from the debate. The authors also conclude that labour force participation strategies are
only one element in Aboriginal advancement. A more holistic approach is required if the
challenges surrounding Aboriginal employment are to be addressed successfully. Essential
elements of this approach are improved training and greater collaboration between Aboriginal
communities, government and business to ensure that Indigenous economic, health and social
outcomes are achieved.
Lori Ann Roness is a member of the academic staff of Mount Allison University, Sackville, New
Brunswick, Canada.
Robert Vurens van Es and A. M. Dockery, ‘Indigenous Australians in the
Labour Market: Exploring the Role of Social Capital’ (discussion paper),
Centre for Labour Market Research (CLMR), Curtin University of
Technology, Perth, 2008, CLMR Discussion Paper No. 3, 2008, 38 pp.
The paper explores the role of social capital in determining labour market outcomes for
Indigenous Australians by using the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social
Survey (NATSISS) to test the empirical link—as manifested in networks—between social
capital and workforce participation levels. The authors make clear that, although social capital
theory is still at a formative stage in terms of its conceptualisation and application in empirical
work, it nevertheless provides a useful means of reassessing the disparity between the living
standards of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, because it explicitly recognises both
the role and value of culture in this process, as embodied in networks.
The authors take as their starting point the OECD definition of social capital—‘networks
together with shared norms, values and understandings which facilitate cooperation within or
among groups’—one which sets out a clear framework for exploring the key social capital
concepts of collective action, forms and scope. So-called ‘macro’ dimensions of social capital
include institutions of the state, the rule of law, and governance; ‘micro’ dimensions include
local institutions, networks, trust, local norms, and values.
This analysis concentrates on labour force participation rates and mainstream employment levels
as the indicators of labour market outcomes. In exploring the role of social capital within this
context, three hypotheses, which relate social capital to outcomes at each stage, are examined.
These hypotheses are:
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The quantity of social capital which an individual may utilise is positively related to
labour market outcomes.
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The diversity of the social capital which an individual may utilise is positively related to
labour market outcomes.
The relationship between social capital and labour market outcomes varies according to
the context of (a) geographic location and (b) gender.
While stressing the formative nature of the social capital approach to explaining Indigenous
labour force outcomes, the authors argue that it does give unique insights into the performance of
Indigenous Australians in the mainstream labour market that are not revealed through more
traditional techniques of analysis. In particular, it explicitly recognises the role of culture, as
embodied in networks in shaping outcomes.
The authors are on the staff of the Centre for Labour Market Research, Curtin Business School,
Curtin University of Technology, Perth.
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