On-Country Pathways Officially Launched!
It’s official, we are here, and we are ready to help young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women find pathways into careers and employment in the commercial construction sector!
On-Country Pathways was formally launched at the Burraja Cultural Centre on Gateway Island, Wodonga, on 24 June, with incredible support from the Albury/Wodonga community.
Joining us at our launch were Duduroa Elders and their families, Indigenous community organisations, training providers, high school and tertiary education staff, local and state government representatives, local businesses, and members from NSW and Victoria Police.
Uncle Al Murray delivered the Welcome to Country on behalf of the Duduroa people and spoke about the importance of helping our young people into employment locally so they could stay on Country.
On-Country Pathways General Manager, Jebb Hutchison, explained how our organisation came into being, after he and his two mates and work colleagues, Jonathan Whelan and Gareth VanNoort, recognised the need to show young Indigenous people the many roles within the commercial construction sector and how they could find a pathway to those roles.
The friends, who run commercial construction, procurement and project management company, TVN On-Country, worked behind the scenes for years to bring their idea to life, and along the way have employed several young Indigenous people – including our wonderful speaker on the day, proud Malyangapa Woman, Emily Patten – who are thriving within the business and undertaking tertiary education courses to further their careers.
Last year, On-Country Pathways was formally established as a not-for-profit organisation and in January 2022, Darren Moffitt joined Jebb as program manager. The final step was receiving our registered charity status.
We would like to thank everyone for their interest and support for this initiative. We hope over time to help hundreds of Indigenous young people find their pathways in to careers and employment, not just in the construction industry but many other industries, and not just limited to the Riverina.
If you know a young person who is interested in the construction industry, or you are a business that can offer a placement, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. There’s more information here: https://on-countrypathways.com.au/