Media Release by Randstad
The world’s largest recruiter, Randstad, and the Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC) – founded in 2016 by Adam Goodes and Michael McLeod – today announced the formation of the Career Centre Alliance (CCA) – a total workforce solution to help companies achieve Indigenous procurement targets for any project across Australia.
The news comes as BAE Systems Maritime Australia – responsible for designing, building and delivering nine anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Australian Navy – confirmed the appointment of CCA to manage trade recruitment of up to 900 workers over five years for its Hunter Class Frigate Program. This follows a highly competitive tender.
Accessed via a single interface, CCA provides partners, including BAE, with access to the best candidates from Indigenous labour hire and recruitment companies, likeZancott recruitment and Randstad. CCA’s offering spans skill deliverables, supply chain expansion and labour diversity deliverables.
To achieve this, CCA is made up of numerous Indigenous owned and controlled businesses such as Zancott Recruitment a long-term partner of iDiC. iDiC itself is an Indigenous owned and controlled business.
CCA will use Randstad’s existing technologies, processes and talent pool to deliver the end-to-end recruitment solution for the Hunter program’s permanent and contract labour. It will provide a specialist pipeline of candidates, including Indigenous candidates, providing long-term career opportunities to maximise diversity and inclusion in Hunter’s workforce.
Adam Goodes, Chief Executive Office and Director of iDiC, says the collaboration will help organisations meet their Diversity and Inclusion procurement and employment objectives, and support Indigenous career paths, whilst also building the capacity of Indigenous recruitment businesses.
“iDiC works to help Indigenous businesses build their capability to win work in the defence and infrastructure spaces. Now, with Randstad’s expertise on board, we’re able to source and place the best candidates into the right roles, including within significant government projects”.
Goodes continues, “Not only does CCA help organisations to fulfil their Indigenous engagement and policy requirements, but in doing so it also enhances overall competitiveness of supply chains. It will ensure a more diverse workforce with skilled and qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women placed at all levels of skill, experience and leadership”.
Nick Elsdon, COO at Randstad and CCA partner, adds: “As organisations continue to prioritise their commitment to diversity and inclusion, CCA represents an important opportunity for Indigenous businesses and candidates alike to be part of this push.
“CCA will connect the best candidates to organisations spearheading major government and infrastructure projects by providing clients access to the specialised market segment of skilled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.
“CCA draws on Randstad and iDiC’s partner Indigenous recruitment companies’ combined expertise in recruitment, mentoring and management to help forward-thinking companies like BAE meet and exceed their diversity and inclusion goals, bolstering their workforce. We look forward to what the Alliance will achieve.”
Zancott Recruitment Managing Director, Cameron Buzzacott, says: “Working with CCA is an important opportunity to have Indigenous owned and controlled businesses in the supply chain and to increase Indigenous employees representation within Australia’s workforce.
“Fifteen percent of our labour hire candidates nationally identify as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and yet remain woefully underrepresented within the workforce. Working with CCA we will help to build the pipeline of Indigenous talent which brings critical skills and expertise long overdue to major infrastructure projects.
For more information about Career Centre Alliance visit: https://cca.idic.com.au/.
