Opening door to IT opportunities for indigenous Australians

By Peter Dinham
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 10:11

Market

Indigenous Australians are being given a look into the world of IT and opportunities for employment in the industry with the launch today of an initiative by telecommunications specialist, Comscentre, in partnership with the Aboriginal Employment Strategy (AES).

Under the partnership, Comscentre aims to provide as many employment opportunities as possible for AES members, and recently offered a six-month internship to trainee, Jasmine Ahsee.

Comscentre managing director, Ben Shipley, said today he believed all businesses should contribute to vital community and employment programs.

"We’ve always held the view that we should allocate a certain percentage of our revenue to not-for-profit activity. As an Australian company we felt an obligation to do something for the whole community by providing opportunities and training within our organisation.We heard about the AES and thought it was a great fit for us.”

AES is a not-for-profit organisation specialising in placing and mentoring indigenous Australians in employment.

Shipley said trainee Jasmine Ahsee “fitted in very well with us at Comscentre and was a valuable employee while she was here. Jasmine first heard about the AES traineeships at Springwood High School on Brisbane’s southside, where she completed an IT subject. During her time at Comscentre, Jasmine worked in the company’s support team, helping customers with inquiries, logging support requests and handing over information to engineers.

Shipley also said that Comscentre has two more placements available now to be filled by the AES.