Case Study - Skye Thompson– Deputy Manager

1. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Case Study - Skye Thompson– Deputy Manager

2. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum The Journey from… Program Funded Agreement (PFA) …. to Commercial Best Practice

3. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Contents: • Why are we making this journey ? • Where are we heading ? • Why is it possible to set out ? • How far have we gone to date ? • What hold ups have we met on the way ? • What is our next step? The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

4. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Background to our organisation: • Founded by Traditional Owners of the land to the north of Alice Springs, in 1984 • Set up to provide municipal, essential and housing services to Outstations • Currently service 43 outstations in Central Australia • An Aboriginal Corporation, compliant with CATSI act The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

5. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Why did we decide to make the journey ? • Initial reason was due to recognition that Government funding for outstations was going to come to an end:- • Wanted to be able to continue with founder members’ vision to allow people to continue to reside on their land • Decided that the best way to do this was to offer our established services to the commercial market place. • Into the journey, also realised commercial best practice is the most effective way to operate a business The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

6. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Why did we decide to make the journey ? • Realised that Commercial Best Practice is the most effective way to operate a business as:- • Requires us to compete, which leads to continuous improvement, market awareness, environmental awareness, quality awareness, OH&S awareness. • Means that being an Indigenous Corporation becomes a point of difference, rather than a disadvantage. • Provides focus and motivation to staff to achieve. • Returns best value for money to our customers and stakeholders. • As a result, we decided to apply Commercial principals to all of our business activities The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

7. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Why was it possible to take the journey: • Strong leadership and upfront commitment from management and directors • Already providing established services that were highly transferable to the commercial market • Had a point of difference, adding value to our products and services The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

8. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Our Mission Is: • By applying strong Indigenous employment policies, to generate enough funds to provide for:- • Healthy, sustainable living on our outstations • Investment in enterprise development on our outstations • A trust to allow outstation members to access quality education The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

9. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum How have we gone about our journey? • Decided early on what products and services to offer and what markets to target. (eg specialise in remote building renovations, not new builds; needed to have a mix of town and remote location work) • Adopted a customer intimate approachdeveloping customer and partnership relationships • Shape the corporate cultureto adopt commercial best practice and conduct our business as per any other mainstream organisation • Developed Transitional Employment Pathway Program (TEPP) as our key resourcing model The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

10. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum How have we gone about our journey? Our Transitional Employment Pathway Program (TEPP) • Non-government funded program that Ingkerreke has established • Provides Aboriginal people who have had limited exposure to the workplace with experience in mainstream employment activities • Initially people are employed on a casual basis and provided with support: for example, assistance to obtain or white card training. • The program includes explaining to families what is expected of a person in permanent employment and the support that they will require from family. • People going forward from Ingkerreke’s TEPP may continue on to carry out an apprenticeship. The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

11. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum How far have we gone? The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

12. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum How far have we gone? The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

13. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: • Rebuild of Imparja House, Alice Springs:- • Highly Visible, $2.5m project • In partnership with established Alice Springs building company The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

14. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: • Clean up of Urban Living Areas (Alice Springs):- • Part of SIHIP, $1m project • 47 people employed of which 90% Indigenous The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

15. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: • Renovations to Remote Communities:- • SIHIP project through New Future Alliance • Revenue of $10m+ over 18 months • Remote location work • All trade contractors includes:- general building, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting etc The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

16. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: • Mala Wave Viewing Platform, Uluru:- • Work for Parks Australia • Team work across Ingkerreke Building and Steel Divisions • Certificate of appreciation from Traditional Owners The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

17. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: • Steel Construction:- • Custom made trays for utility vehicles • Trailers (eg for fire fighting, plant) • Stainless steel kitchens • Support for building projects • Customised boiler-making and welding The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

18. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

19. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Examples of Commercial Projects that we have undertaken: The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

20. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum What hold ups have we had on the way? • Not all customers are prepared to pay for our points of difference (what is it worth to develop Indigenous employment opportunities and support the local community?) • Huge task to change corporate culture and is ongoing • High investment in marketing, putting commercial procedures in place and in structuring the company The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

21. 5th Indigenous Economic Development Forum Where are we heading next: • Consolidation of products and services • Gain ISO accreditation • Continual building of Indigenous skills and transitional employment outcomes • Provide support for the launch of new enterprise initiatives, enabled by the success of our personal development initiatives and upskilling of our Indigenous staff The Journey from PFA to Commercial Best Practice

22. PO Box 8244 Alice Springs NT 0871 6 McDonald Street Alice Springs NT 08-89502200 F: 08-89502222 sales@Ingkerreke.com.au