First Nations Engagement in School Infrastructure
First Nations Engagement in School Infrastructure program
School Infrastructure NSW has launched the First Nations Engagement in School Infrastructure program to involve Aboriginal people, communities, and businesses in school maintenance.
We manage a large maintenance program for more than 2,000 schools across NSW. To do some of this work, we are looking to engage local Aboriginal businesses and local businesses that employ Aboriginal employees, apprentices, and trainees.
We need more Aboriginal people involved in school maintenance to increase equity, support local contractors, and promote skilled Aboriginal participation in our school experience.
About the program
As part of our new approach, we want to actively promote the engagement of Aboriginal people, communities and businesses in the maintenance and construction of educational facilities. We aim to support economic participation for Aboriginal people and businesses on Country, investing in the development of local skills and trades to build and maintain local schools. This new facilities management contract will see successful service delivery partners work with us to increase and grow a pipeline of Aboriginal businesses and employees engaged in school facilities maintenance
We want to see that school maintenance work leaves a lasting legacy for communities across the state.
As part of our new approach to managing school maintenance and, in partnership with Aboriginal agencies and businesses, School Infrastructure NSW has established the First Nations Engagement in School Infrastructure program.
The program is designed to actively promote the engagement of Aboriginal people, communities and businesses in school infrastructure.
The vast scale of School Infrastructure NSW’s asset portfolio and maintenance needs means there are significant opportunities to create positive outcomes through engagement with local communities, including locally owned and operated businesses having connections with and providing work for their local schools and other Department of Education sites.
Job creation and capacity building in regional and remote parts of the state are strategic objectives of School Infrastructure NSW, and creating business and employment opportunities centred around local communities are also key objectives in our facilities maintenance contract.
Embodying the department’s Reconciliation Action Plan commitments to strengthen relationships with, and employment opportunities for, Aboriginal people, communities and organisations, the program and the new facilities maintenance contract approach will also broaden training and sustainable and local employment pathways for Aboriginal school students.
Contact the program to learn more: enquiries.fnesi@det.nsw.edu.au
Services and trades we're looking for
We’re looking for a variety of maintenance services and trades including:
- plumbing
- glazers
- carpenters
- gasfitters
- electrical
- test and tag
- lighting
- pest control
- construction
- gutter cleaning
- equipment construction and maintenance
- engineering
- fencing services building and repairs
- roofing
- and more.
Need help?
Contact an Aboriginal Senior Program Officer who can assist you with:
- understanding the types of services we are looking for
- how to register your business as an Aboriginal owned business or one who employs Aboriginal people
- connecting with businesses who want to employ Aboriginal apprentices or trainees.
