Employees from across our South Australian business were excited to get out into the community and chat about career paths with Ventia and enjoy watching a few rounds of football whilst they were at it. 

Indigenous Employment Coordinator Bessie Fredberg led the team who headed to the Malley Park Football Club at Port Lincoln, around 650km west of Adelaide, to chat to around 100 students from schools across the peninsula. 

"Through the work we do in particular on the Across Government Facilities Management Arrangement in South Australia, we're able to offer some really interesting career paths to these kids," Bessie says. 

"It's not just direct jobs with Ventia we can offer. We were also able to promote opportunities of apprenticeships with our subcontractor networks around the peninsula." 

Ventia began working with Port Adelaide Football Club in 2011 as part of our commitment to provide mentoring and meaningful career opportunities for Indigenous Australians to help close the gap.

This includes the annual flagship event, the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup, which Ventia has been proud to sponsor for 11 years. 

Bessie has previously said the partnership with Port Adelaide provided an important pathway to engage with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, learn about their community and discover how we as individuals and as a business can contribute to reconciliation. 

"Through this partnership we have been able to connect with First Nations Year 11 and 12 students and outline the many different types of roles and industries we have at Ventia," Bessie said.

But it's not just about recruiting people, it's more about engaging with the First Nations community to lift their school attendance and help them succeed. 

"This program has made a difference to participation in school and the kids' grades have improved as a result, and I'm so proud Ventia has been able to help achieve that."

Thanks to Wayne Steed and Ryan Zacharjak from our AGFMA team and Kalu Jasmin and Sally Neale from Skout Solutions for supporting the day.