Applications are now open for $1.35 million in State Government funding to provide targeted and practical training and employment support to Aboriginal people in the Kimberley and the Goldfields-Esperance regions.
The Aboriginal Employment Enabling Program (AEEP) grants will provide funds to organisations to develop and implement innovative solutions that address the barriers Aboriginal people face in engaging in the workforce and help achieve positive training and employment outcomes.
The grants program will provide funding for activities, services or projects that support:
- Aboriginal people to engage in training and employment opportunities;
- employers to improve their cultural competency; and
- organisations, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, to build their capability to help Aboriginal people accessing employment and/or training, or employers recruiting and retaining Aboriginal employees.
Following extensive research, analysis of workforce participation data and stakeholder consultation, the Kimberley and the Goldfields-Esperance regions have been chosen as pilot regions for the grants program.
The grants program — funded as part of the 2023—24 State Budget — will be administered by the Department of Training and Workforce Development. Projects and services funded by the AEEP grants are expected to be delivered throughout 2024 and 2025.
An additional $250,000 in funding has been set aside to continue the current contracted delivery of training and employment enabling supports for young Aboriginal people in the metropolitan area until the end of 2025.
The application pack for AEEP Grants Program is available on tenders.wa.gov.au
Applications close at 5pm on Friday, 22 March 2024.
For more information about the program, email AEEP.Grants@dtwd.wa.gov.au.
Training and Workforce Development Minister Simone McGurk said, "The Cook Government is committed to lifting the participation of Aboriginal people in training and employment. "To do that we need to reduce the barriers Aboriginal people face as well as provide additional wrap-around supports. The Aboriginal Employment Enabling Program grants are a practical way that our Government can support local organisations to deliver targeted training and employment services and projects that meet the needs of their communities. I encourage all service providers with a presence in the Kimberley and Goldfields-Esperance regions to review the grant information and apply."
