Partnering for participation

Policies like the Aboriginal Participation in Construction Policy (APIC) and the Aboriginal Procurement Policy set the framework for government agencies to create opportunities for Aboriginal-owned businesses and encourage Aboriginal employment and training through the supply chain of NSW government contracts.

But at Sydney Metro, complying with the policy requirements is just the starting point. With bespoke Aboriginal Participation plans for each of its projects, and a dedicated team that’s involved right from the start, the approach is all about collaborating with industry at every point along the project to help get the best outcomes for Aboriginal people.

Sonja Malcolm, Senior Manager Workforce Development and Capability at Sydney Metro, explains more.

How would you describe Sydney Metro’s approach?

We’re very passionate about the legacy our projects leave and about going above and beyond the policy drivers, to positively impact Aboriginal people and communities. We have a bespoke Aboriginal Participation plan for City South West (which we’re currently constructing) and we’ve already got plans for Greater West and West (not yet in construction). These plans form part of the business case, and our team is involved right from the start of the project. That’s very important.

How do you support your contracting partners to achieve the best Aboriginal participation outcomes?

We start off with a very contractual arrangement with clear expectations of what needs to be delivered, but then we partner with our contracting partners who are building Sydney Metro projects to help them achieve what we ask of them. That means meeting with them every month, and providing a whole suite of support that they can tap into – like industry funded training, pre-employment programs, mental health training, PPE, a whole range of things. So it’s very collaborative, very industry-informed, and very well supported. I think that’s a real point of difference for our projects.

Construction is currently underway on the City and Southwest project. What are some of the results you’ve achieved so far?

We currently have 457 Aboriginal people employed on that project, which is 2.5 per cent of the workforce. We have 33 Aboriginal apprentices and trainees, and 60 Aboriginal people who’ve joined the project through pre-employment programs.

One of the numbers we’re most proud of is that 11 per cent of the small to medium enterprises in our supply chain are Aboriginal enterprises – supplying goods and services including construction, PPE, cleaners, training, cultural awareness, mentoring and support and employment services. When we started I don’t think we even had 3 per cent.

How can services like pre-employment programs help improve participation?

These programs support people who have significant barriers to employment by opening the door to opportunities they might not otherwise be able to access. To date the program has delivered 84% job outcomes with 48% of participants being Aboriginal people and more than 52% going on to complete apprenticeships and traineeships in civil construction and precast manufacturing. The program also worked with NSW Corrections to support a number of participants coming through the prisoner release program.

How else do you encourage Aboriginal participation?

We’ve held a number of industry briefings, where our principal contractors and their supply chains present the procurement opportunities coming up in the next six to 12 months. We invite Aboriginal businesses along to build connections with the contractors and promote their services and capabilities. We had about 150 Aboriginal businesses attend the last three forums that we ran. On the most recent forum, with Central Station contractors, we had six new Aboriginal businesses access the supply chain, as a result of the briefing.

2019 Aboriginal Forum

Find out more

https://www.sydneymetro.info/workforce-development-and-industry-participation