Ellie Cole's Couch - Austin transcript

Building an inclusive workplace for Indigenous Australians

Austin: The challenge is getting rid of the non-essential requirements, you know, changing your ads, having mentorship programs, outreach programs where you're actually going out to the  people and having Indigenous people that are actually leading that, I think, is key.

Ellie: Are you able to start by introducing your name, your age and your occupation at APM?

Austin: So, my name's Austin Bruton. I'm 44 In December, so 43 years old. I'm National Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at APM. So I've worked with people that really just, you know, don't even want to get out of bed on a daily basis. And I think understanding what their circumstances are and then just having a conversation has been able to get them out of bed and engaged in some sort of activity. Where we started to focus on was, you know, cohort-specific activities for training programs where I could engage with employers that actually cared about people and wanted to make a real meaningful change. And then getting some RTOs involved where we could actually, you know, tack on some tickets if needed or whatever. And it was just about building confidence and resilience and showing up every day. It didn't matter about where you came from, what your background was, whether you could read and write. It was just about coming.

Ellie: And what do you love most about your role there?

Austin: I guess creating opportunities for people that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise, and then seeing them, you know, thrive in that opportunity and go on to bigger and better things. So people tell me, “Austin, without you kind of, you know, calling me and saying that, no one was going to give me a job because, you know, I was incarcerated, got big criminal history, no one cares, you know, that type of stuff”. But it's almost like once you have these conversations, what I've often found is they're a lot smarter than I am. And, you know, if you can show up and stuff and engage and you have a purpose of and you want work, then you should be getting the same opportunity as the next person. I think that's the same with people in disability space as well. Like, it doesn't matter whether you’ve got a disability, I think everyone should get the same opportunity. It should be inclusive society and trying to get employees and challenge them to actually have that mindset, that, you know, doesn't matter where you come from, but if you really want to, you know, make a difference then you have to follow through with what you say and that means that the requirements, you know, can't be the same for everyone.

Ellie: What are some of the biggest challenges that you've seen with Indigenous Australians when they're trying to secure employment?

Austin: I would have to firstly touch on it's the longest living culture in the world, you know, so talking like 65 ,000 years. They’ve got their own traditions and practices. Some of them might not adapt by time, mobile phones, digital skills on a computer and all that stuff. So being able to give those people the same chances because, you know, and I do understand some employers do have requirements which are not negotiable. So that's that. But there's also some employers that can open the door and kind of brush those requirements as long as people are meeting.  And I think that's the way. The challenge is getting rid of the non-essential requirements, you know changing your ads, having mentorship programs, outreach programs, where you're actually going out to the people and having Indigenous people that are actually leading that, I think, is key.

Ellie: What about businesses? What can businesses do better to help support those processes to have more Indigenous and First Nations people working for them?

Austin: I think outside APM, what we do a really good job as is, you know, we can do all that stuff and tailor things with our Indigenous Specialist Contracts and our staff to have, you know, tailored things, interview techniques and styles, but that can only go so far. And without practising that in a real setting with an employee, you're not going to know whether you're going to be successful or not. But I think those things, representation, cultural awareness training and actually having people that want to come out and make a real difference and actually following through and giving some people a go, adapting, you know, you've got principal carer parents out there that might not be able to work nothing but school hours, so you make a role that adapts within school hours, you know, and then you've got, you know, Sorry Business as well, which can go on for no time frame, you know, and I think there should be permissible breaks, so to speak, in the workplace, which allows for all that stuff where people can come back and continue if, you know, have lost somebody in their family and things like that. So it's having an understanding about the culture and actually tailoring some jobs that actually fit those things, which there's no knockout factors, and I think that's how you make a real change and a bit more of a difference and if you're a business that's what I'd encourage you to try and do.

Ellie: I think Australia has come a long way with cultural awareness around Indigenous Australians. But I still feel like we have such a long way to go. How important do you think the training and awareness is for organisations to keep that momentum going?

Austin: Extremely important. I'd almost stick that at the top.  And local people have a connection to their local elders. That's just the way it is. And I think that we do a very good job at APM at doing that. I've even got one elder who literally has travelled to every state and delivered probably, you know, 30 plus workshops for us for our First Nations participants and I think that goes a long way in itself because everywhere she goes she tells me a story about, “Oh, I know this mob and that mob, and I was talking to so-and-so”. And I think that means more than, you know, anything that we can do. That’s going to impact through community and all that stuff, and actually giving these guys the toolkit.

Ellie: I'm been fortunate to be able to speak to quite a number of people that work for APM, and it's exactly the same message. They're all so empowered, they love what they do, they can really see the benefits to the community with the work that they do. And it's so many nice stories to hear.

Austin: So many nice stories. I mean, the thing is, it's like, I've had people that literally come back to me and say, "Austin, I've just bought my first house, my car. If it wasn't for you telling me to get up, get out there to that program’, and I’m like "No, that wasn't me. That was you. Like,  you're the one that did the work. All I did was open the door."