Seven leading farming businesses, all closely aligned to Canadian superannuation giant, PSP Investments, have signed a funding, work placement and training agreement to help young Indigenous Australians make strides in the workforce.
All up, $500,000 will be donated to the Clontarf Foundation and the Stars Foundation by Australian Food and Fibre (AFF), Aurora Dairies, Fresh Country Farms, Hewitt Cattle Australia, Stahmann Webster, and the soon-to-be merged NSW-based crop and logistics businesses, BFB and Daybreak Cropping.
The three-year deal involves mentoring, work experience and employment opportunities to ultimately to provide career pathways for Indigenous boys and girls participating in Clontarf and Stars programs.
The agribusiness partners are corporate-scale operators owned or majority-owned by PSP, one of Canada's biggest pension investment institutions.
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They are involved in producing most major agricultural commodities and have operations spanning every state and large parts of regional and remote Australia.
The Clontarf Foundation operates 139 academies within 149 schools around Australia, supporting more than 10,000 participants.
Its operating model uses sport, particularly football, to attract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to its academies, encouraging them to embrace a healthy lifestyle, study and self-discipline practices.
Schooling, job goals
Established in WA less than three years ago, Clontarf has helped more than 5500 young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men complete Year 12 and find employment.
The Stars Foundation is also relatively young, established in 2015.
It helps Indigenous girls to attend school, complete Year 12 and transition to tertiary study or the workforce.
Its programs provide a culturally safe and nurturing environment students from 10 to 25 years of age to give them the skills and confidence needed to successfully participate in school and transition toward an independent future.
In 2020 97 per cent of Stars students completed Year 12 and 87pc found employment.
PSP's senior managing director of real assets and the global head of natural resources, Marc Drouin, said the big investment manager and its farming partners were striving to make a beneficial contribution to the rural communities in which they operate.
Make a difference
"Since the Australian agriculture sector presents a wealth of employment and training opportunities, our group believes Clontarf and Stars are the best partners to help make a meaningful difference for Indigenous Australians," he said.
Nick Gill, the chief executive officer at Fresh Country Farms, which has protected and permanent horticultural crops in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania, said his team had seen first-hand "incredible mentoring" undertaken by Clontarf on the football field, behind the barbecue and in the classroom.
He was keen to work with Clontarf and Stars on further opportunities for boys and girls in both regional and metropolitan Australia.
CEO of AFF's cotton farming, ginning and marketing business, Joe Robinson, said his company already worked with regional communities in NSW to provide real opportunities for self-development.
"We are proud to continue that investment program, including through these foundation initiatives," he said.
ESG opportunity
At Stahmann Webster, CEO, Ross Burling, described the agreement as "a terrific initiative" aligning with the nut grower and processor's commitment to environmental, social and governance goals and participation in communities it operated in, from Bundaberg in Queensland to Swansea in Tasmania.
"We look forward to providing genuine work and learning opportunities to help young Indigenous Australians get ahead."
A grateful Stars Foundation founder, Andrea Goddard, said education created empowering opportunities.
The multi-year commitment by PSP and its local agribusinesses provided greater certainty for Stars' existing programs and expansion options to support more.
The Clontarf Foundation's founder, Gerard Neesham, was excited by the prospect of more young Clontarf men entering the farming industry thanks to the PSP agreement.
"Our boys relish opportunities to grow their confidence and skills through participation in the workforce," he said.
Work experience
In Queensland, Hewitt Cattle Australia CEO, Mick Hewitt, looked forward to providing mentoring and work experience opportunities across the business' organic and natural livestock production properties, which are also in Northern Territory and NSW.
BFB's Shane Bird, said his group was actively involved in many areas of the Riverina community and was pleased to extend support.
"Our integrated farming business, including farms, storage, merchandising, agronomy, freight and a piggery," said Mr Bird, whose operations are in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and WA.
"We will be able to offer work experience and hopefully long-term employment in an array of agriculture businesses."
Aurora Dairies, CEO, Ben James, could also see similar on-farm and milk industry opportunities for Indigenous boys and girls to advance towards careers in agriculture.
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Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
