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| Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships
Resource Kit |
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Click
here to return to 'Main Contents' page
Click here to go to the Downloads page |
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| Contents |
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Why
market Australian Apprenticeships? |
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What
is different about communicating with Indigenous communities?
What
localised marketing can and cannot do
What
is involved in marketing to Indigenous clients? |
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How
do you go about developing a marketing strategy?
How
do you make your marketing appeal to Indigenous people?
Sample
marketing materials |
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Start
by learning from others – Case Studies
Dreamtime
Cultural Centre
The
Northern Territory Approach |
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| Topic C4 - Marketing
Australian Apprenticeships to suit local needs |
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| Why
market Australian Apprenticeships? |
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Australian Apprenticeships
are like any other product or service in the marketplace. They must compete
with other forms of recruitment and training that are available to prospective
employers and jobseekers.
The Australian and State/Territory governments actively promote Australian Apprenticeships
through the mass media and other communication channels. There is also a
wide range of information to inform interested parties about the benefits
and financial incentives available. The outcomes of this national exposure
suggest that it has been highly successful in meeting its objectives in
mainstream workplaces.
There is a widely held view that such national advertising and marketing
campaigns have had more limited success in penetrating some particular regions,
industries and target groups of the population. For example, data on
participation rates suggest that these campaigns have not had a significant
impact on Indigenous people. As a result, you cannot assume that the benefits
of the Australian Apprenticeships system are either widely known or understood
in these communities.
However, there are many examples of successful Australian Apprenticeships marketing
initiatives launched by local organisations that are tailored to the issues
and situations affecting Indigenous people in their area. Hopefully,
the information in this topic will provide you with the advice you need
to develop your own marketing programs. In each case, it is likely that
you will supplement, rather than replace, the information available from
national sources. |
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What
is different about communicating with Indigenous communities?
Indigenous culture relies heavily on word-of-mouth dissemination of information.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Indigenous people do not respond well
to mainstream marketing strategies. For instance, in regional and remote
areas many Indigenous people do not use mainstream media such as television,
radio and newspapers to access information. For this reason, generic national
advertising campaigns will rarely be effective with Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people, particularly where they live in rural and remote
areas.
By using locally produced promotional and marketing campaigns you can: |
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give appropriate
acknowledgement to the cultural issues
that will play a major role in attracting Indigenous people, their
parents and families and community to the Australian Apprenticeship approach |
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focus on aspects
of Australian Apprenticeships that are more relevant to the participation
of Indigenous people within individual regions and locations.
In other words, the circumstances that prevail in a particular local
environment may require targeted marketing on a gender, industry,
occupation or age group basis. In these cases, both of the primary
stakeholders (ie. the targeted Indigenous client group and the employers
that are well placed to provide opportunities for the target group)
can be the subject of specifically designed marketing and promotional
campaigns. For example, marketing the benefits of Australian Apprenticeships
to young people in a particular community might use local role models,
issues and settings that are recognisable by the target audience.
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control the
timing of promotional activity
to adapt to such factors as seasonal conditions that prevail in a
particular regional situation, cultural commitments of the Indigenous
community, the availability of target groups (ie. Indigenous school
leavers) and/or the peak and troughs of recruitment of particular
industry groups. The marketing can also link with other school or
employment related issues (eg. careers events) that are topical at
that time of the year. |
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What
localised marketing can and cannot do
Understanding
what can and cannot be achieved by marketing is an important early step.
Marketing can: |
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increase knowledge
and awareness of Australian Apprenticeships and Indigenous issues |
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influence or
reinforce perceptions, beliefs and attitudes that may change behaviour
of the target audiences |
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prompt people
in the target audience to take action |
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refute myths
and misconceptions about Indigenous people. |
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| Marketing alone
cannot: |
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generate sustained
change |
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overcome major
barriers and systemic problems |
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compensate for
inadequate services on the ground to support Indigenous trainees and
employers |
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address all issues
affecting Indigenous participation in Australian Apprenticeships – the behaviour
change required is too complex. |
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What
is involved in marketing to Indigenous clients?
The first step is to engage with the key stakeholders from
the local Indigenous community. These stakeholders are the parents and other
key people who can access and influence members of your local Aboriginal
or Torres Strait Islander community and contribute to the overall strategy
development of your campaign.
How you engage people in one location will not necessarily work in another.
Therefore, you must consult with these key stakeholders to assist you
identify the mechanisms that will work for the targeted community and build
them into your overall marketing and promotional plan.
Partnership approaches between the local Indigenous community, employers,
the AAC, RTO, GTO, Industry Associations, Land Councils and other community
based Indigenous organisations are more likely to succeed than a singularly
oriented, one-off campaign.
As mentioned above, generic National ‘electronic and print media’ advertising
campaigns will rarely be effective with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. However, advertisements in local newspapers, Indigenous publications,
posters, brochures and pamphlets featuring local Indigenous people (such
as sports men/women, role models, regional identities) will attract attention
and be the subject of conversations and ‘gossip’ within the networks of
local community members.
Similarly, Indigenous radio stations, television stations (eg. Impartja),
the web sites of Indigenous organisations and Indigenous Email ‘Networks’
provide valid and effective alternatives.
In most locations where there are significant populations of Indigenous
Australians, a particular organisation or organisations will be informally
used by the people themselves as the primary means of promoting a broad
array of activities.
You will need to tap into these organisations when attempting to identify
participants for Australian Apprenticeship opportunities. |
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Visit
the Australian Government Directory for links to some Indigenous media
organisations www.gold.gov.au
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Visit
the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Studies website for further links to Indigenous media organisations
www.aiatsis.gov.au/news/links.htm
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Visit
the Black Pages website and search the National Directory for ‘media
and communications’ www.blackpages.com.au |
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Visit
the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association website for information
about CAAMA www.caama.com.au
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Visit
the Indigenous.gov website and select ‘Services and Programs >
Broadcast media’ for links to Indigenous media www.indigenous.gov.au
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| How
do you go about developing a marketing strategy? |
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The process that
you should follow to market Australian Apprenticeships to your Indigenous and employer
clients is not different from other forms of marketing. You already have
a well established product but you need to promote it in a way that meets
local needs.
The following marketing checklist provides headings and text to remind you
of the issues you should consider when designing your marketing strategy.
Don’t let budget constraints keep you from doing the job systematically.
The checklist will prompt you to improve the marketing activities you may
already be undertaking and to identify additional marketing opportunities
to help you to increase the participation of Indigenous Australians in Australian Apprenticeship in your region. |
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| Steps |
Marketing
process and checklist |
Your
response |
| 1 |
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Market
Analysis and the marketing environment
Determine
which of your goals could be met by a local marketing program.
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Assess
the state of the labour market |
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Assess
the viability of industries in your area |
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Identify
growth industries |
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Assess
the supply and job readiness of Indigenous candidates |
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Assess
the need for market segmentation |
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Gather
demographic information |
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Analyse
statistical data, etc. |
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Analysis
of audience
Undertake
a detailed assessment of the key audience groups such as potential
Indigenous trainees and potential employers. Learn as much as
can about them. Ask the questions:
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What
are their needs? |
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Are
there sub-groups? |
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Identify
growth industries |
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What
information will they want? |
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What
messages will they respond best to? |
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Current
situation analysis (SWOT)
Consider
the current strengths and weaknesses in your organisation as
well as the opportunities and threats in the marketplace (refer
to Step 1 and Step 2).
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Analysis
of alternatives
Analyse
the alternatives to a Australian Apprenticeship for both Indigenous
trainees and the potential employer.
Develop convincing arguments for the Australian Apprenticeship option.
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Marketing
objectives/targets
Establish
realistic targets for the number of Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships
you wish to achieve.
You could establish targets on a regional basis, in occupational
groups or industries, etc.
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Strategy
development
Consider:
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messages
that fit with your goals and audience |
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preferred
promotional methods, channels, media outlets |
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timings
to suit audience |
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associated
strategies such as networking, new partnerships, transition
strategies to ensure job ready candidates. |
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Implementation/action
plan
Develop
actions to address each of the strategies outlined in Step 6,
allocate responsibility to individuals and establish timeframes
for completion of the tasks.
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Review
and evaluation
Review
and evaluate your progress against the timeframes established
in Step 7 and the objectives and targets formulated in Step
5.
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Re-plan
Adjust
your Marketing Plan to take account of changing circumstances,
blockages, delays and any other unforeseen difficulties.
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| How
do you make your marketing appeal to Indigenous people? |
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If you want to strike
a chord with your Indigenous audience, you need to ensure that your marketing
is culturally sensitive and relevant to their needs and aspirations. This
generally means that you will need to modify your usual mainstream marketing
approaches.
While you could use the model outlined earlier in this topic to develop
your marketing strategy, you should consider the following information that
may affect the success of your strategy. |
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| Marketing
Methods |
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When marketing to
an Indigenous audience there is no substitute for face-to-face promotion.
This may include meetings and/or attendance at important Indigenous cultural
activities, such as NAIDOC, CROCFEST, careers expos and open days.
Success in these activities is heavily dependent on: |
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an awareness
of Indigenous culture and people in your locality |
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the existence
of networks with leading Indigenous people, as well as their organisations
and communities. |
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| If you elect to advertise
or promote your services using television, radio, electronic and/or print
media, you will need to consider whether there are appropriate Indigenous
media channels available in your locality. You could start by visiting Indigenous
websites. |
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Two
high visibility sites are: |
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Vibe Australia
Vibe Australia is an Aboriginal media, communications and events management
agency situated in Darlinghurst, Sydney with a staff of ten. They specialise
in the production and dissemination of targeted, culturally sensitive communication
products and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Vibe Australia reaches Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at local,
state and national levels. Their networks spread from Oyster Cove in Tasmania
to Bamaga in Cape York, from Redfern to Broome, Alice Springs to Darwin.
Vibe Australia’s core business is the broadcasting, publication and promotion
of Indigenous music, sport, entertainment and lifestyle across Australia.
This is achieved through: |
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an Internet site
www.vibe.com.au |
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Deadly Vibe,
a national monthly full-colour magazine. Deadly Vibe currently
has a distribution rate of 47,000 copies per month, easily making
it the largest publication of its kind in Australia. The magazine’s
pass-on rate is very high. Research indicates that 62% of readers
who receive their own copy of Deadly Vibe reported that their
copy is read by more than three people. |
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Deadly Sounds,
a nationally syndicated weekly radio show. Deadly Sounds is
broadcast on more than 200 Indigenous community and remote transmitter
radio stations across Australia. Hosted by well-known Indigenous broadcaster,
artistic director and author, Rhoda Roberts, Deadly Sounds
interviews a wide range of studio guests. The program has now been
on-air for more than eight years. |
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Vibe Australia is committed
to reinforcing the importance for Indigenous Australians of completing a
full secondary education, continuing with further education, and successfully
securing employment and training opportunities. This includes profiling
positive role models and running up-beat news stories for Indigenous young
people to read, as they feel such coverage is lacking in the mainstream
media.
Vibe Australia
provides easy and effective targeted advertising on a fee-for-service basis,
including Internet, print and radio media.
[SOURCE: Vibe
Australia website] |
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Deadly Mob
‘Deadly Mob’
provides an ICT youth support and mentoring service to Indigenous young
people. It is based out of the Gap Youth Centre in Alice Springs in the
NT. The primary focus is to provide a relevant and appropriate forum for
young Indigenous people through an interactive website. It covers news and
topical issues relevant to young people across Australia.
By linking with Deadly Mob, young people can participate in the wider Indigenous
community and connect with other young people, role models and relevant
services and resources using the free Deadly Mail service, community webpages
and the newsletters of the Online Liaison Coordinator.
A key initiative is the Career Mentoring Program, based on an earlier initiative
of the Dusseldorf Skills Forum that supports young people in the transition
from learning to work using mentoring techniques. Indigenous students and
their schools can link via the internet to search engines and resources
and take ownership of these to create local ‘school work, work transition’
support systems.
Deadly Mob systems have been created to be relevant nationally. There is
both a ‘workplacement/work experience’ search engine and a ‘mentor’ search
engine. While most current content serves the local
Alice Springs and central Australian community, the search engines have
the capacity to grow with demand. |
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For
more information on Deadly Mob and to access the Career Mentoring
Program, visit the website at
www.deadlymob.org |
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Other
Indigenous media outlets with wide coverage include: |
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National Indigenous
Times –
national newspaper launched in 2002 and based in the south coast of
NSW. www.nit.com.au |
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Koori Mail
– national newspaper
based in Lismore, NSW. The newspaper is published fortnightly. www.koorimail.com |
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Top End Aboriginal
Bush Broadcasting Association (TEABBA) –
a broadcasting and information service to remote communities, based
in Darwin. TEABBA is a recognised voice within the Indigenous broadcasting
sector and actively promotes the development of local broadcasting
so that Aboriginal people can gain access to information important
to their community and for the maintenance of culture and language.
TEABBA provides a range of services including radio advertising, music
recording, video production, language translations and technical support.
www.teabba.com.au/association
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Broadcasting
in Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS) –
a community radio network hosted by TEABBA covering 27 communities
in the top end of the Northern Territory. More details are available
on the TEABBA website. www.teabba.com.au/association |
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Imparja Television
– based in Alice
Springs and produces and broadcasts Indigenous programs to most of
central and eastern Australia through access to satellite signals.
As well as locally produced programs, Imparja purchases programs from
the Nine and Ten networks. www.imparja.com.au
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National Indigenous
Radio Service (NIRS) –
a national service based in Brisbane to support local Indigenous media
organisations with national programming, including current affairs.
www.nirs.org.au |
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Marketing
style
Your understanding and awareness of Indigenous culture will help you to
present your marketing messages in a style that is appropriate and sensitive
to Indigenous people.
For example, you should consider matters such as: |
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language
– remember that Australian English is not the first language of many
Indigenous Australians |
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colours
– the use of recognisable Indigenous colours is a good place to start |
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pictures and
photographs – there are well known sensitivities in this area;
try alternatives
such as illustrations |
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local contexts
and stories – the audience is likely to respond to messages that
they see as relevant |
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local identities
and role models – these people will have credibility and status |
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simplicity
– the messages, concepts and ideas should be kept simple and clear. |
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These
have been inserted into the PDF documents available on this site as
mono graphics. You can view them on screen for full impact using the
files held on the Resource Kit CD. For details on how to order the
CD see Section D6.
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Brochures
developed by Australian Apprenticeships Centre NT (see Case Study page
13 of this section). Poster above developed by DET AAC (see
Case Study in Topic C6 page 15). |
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Details
from the three brochures developed by Australian Apprenticeships Centre
NT using the ‘story board’ approach and plain English
to motivate and inform Indigenous readers. |
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| CASE STUDY |
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Dreamtime
Cultural Centre
The Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton (Queensland) is an initiative
of the Central Queensland Aboriginal Corporation for Cultural Activities.
The Centre is a major Indigenous tourism and conference centre, with a 30
room 4 Star Motel.
The Company employs an all-Indigenous staff. It has achieved high success
rates in the retention of Indigenous staff through the provision of support
strategies, including addressing cross-cultural issues.
Many of the staff that were employed at Dreamtime have moved into mainstream
positions in the broader community. |
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The
Northern Territory Approach
This Northern Territory AAC and Group Training Organisation has developed
a range of flyers and posters to promote and market Indigenous Australian Apprentices
in remote Aboriginal communities. Their approach involves consultation with
the Indigenous target audience to ensure cultural sensitivity and that relevant
messages are conveyed. In one example, a colourful cartoon approach is used
to avoid cultural sensitivities (see
pages 10-11).
In the table on the following pages is an illustration of how the AAC arm
of Group Training Northern Territory (referred to below as NT AAC) used
the marketing checklist to design and implement their localised marketing
campaign. |
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Group Training
Northern Territory Website www.gtnt.com.au
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For
more information about Indigenous Australian Apprenticeships on this
website, select ‘Employers > Indigenous Services’ in the
left menu.
One of the current projects is the Indigenous ESO program (Essential
Services Officer Certificate II Traineeship). |
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| Steps |
Marketing
Checklist and/or
Marketing Processes |
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Outline
of activities undertaken by NT AAC in the production of the
pamphlets and posters designed to encourage the participation
of Indigenous people from remote areas in Australian Apprenticeships |
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| 1 |
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Market
Analysis and the marketing environment |
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The
labour market conditions that exist in remote communities
are substantially different to the norm. |
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NT
AAC identified the need to increase the uptake of Australian
Apprenticeships in remote communities and improve the
retention rate of existing apprentices. |
| • |
Nationally
produced promotional materials about Australian Apprenticeships
may not be culturally appropriate because they are generally
written in such a way that many Indigenous community apprentices,
employers and community organisation representatives have
difficulty understanding them. |
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| 2 |
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NT
AAC sought advice from the NT Human Services Training
Advisory Council which had previously produced a range
of marketing materials for marketing Environmental Health
Worker Training throughout the NT. |
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Both
the NT Department of Employment, Education and Training
and the Department of Education, Science and Training were
consulted. |
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Indigenous
communities do not respond well to mainstream marketing
strategies such as television and nationally produced
brochures, flyers and posters. |
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| 3 |
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Current
Situation Analysis (SWOT) |
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In
conducting a SWOT, NT AAC was well aware of the lack of
appropriate Australian Apprenticeship promotional materials for
use in remote Aboriginal communities. |
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NT
AAC is an organisation that specialises in working with
Indigenous communities. |
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All
NT AAC Field Officers have undertaken training in cultural
awareness and the selling of training programs. |
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NT
AAC needed to better equip its AAC Field Officers to promote
Australian Apprenticeships to remote Indigenous communities. |
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| 4 |
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NT
AAC noted that: |
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Australian
Apprenticeships are not always the solution to training
people in remote Indigenous communities. Sometimes short,
targeted training programs or pre-employment programs
are more suitable. |
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Australian
Apprenticeships appear to suit building and construction,
as well as some community services, retail, business,
automotive, civil construction and environmental health
occupations. |
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In
those remote communities that could use Australian Apprenticeships
in the above occupational areas, most have suitably qualified
and or experienced persons to supervise and train the
apprentices on the job. |
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Wherever
possible, Australian Apprenticeships should lead to a sustainable
employment outcome rather than being just a training exercise. |
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| 5 |
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Marketing
objectives/targets |
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Participation: |
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The
DEST benchmark is ~28% and the target is to increase participation
to ~34%. |
| Retention: |
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The
retention rate benchmark ~61% and the target is to increase
retention to 80%. |
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| 6 |
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NT
AAC have established Community Contact Officers in Aboriginal
communities throughout
the NT. |
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These
contact officers are local Indigenous persons, respected
in the community, fluent in local Aboriginal language
and have some understanding of the Australian Apprenticeship
training system. |
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Priority
has been given to those communities who have demonstrated
interest in increasing Australian Apprenticeship numbers. |
| • |
NT
AAC has prepared an information pack for Community Contact
Officers using plain English and animation to provide
better targeted information to potential Indigenous apprentices,
parents/guardians and employers. |
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In
line with AAC contractual arrangements, NT AAC has increased
the number of visits to remote communities by its Field
Officers since July 2003. |
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| 7 |
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Implementation
/action plan |
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NT
AAC prepared a brief for the development of written information
about the Australian Apprenticeship system that is appropriate
for Indigenous communities. |
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NT
AAC contracted the NT Human Services Training Advisory
Council to undertake the project. |
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The
project developed three brochures for potential apprentices,
employers and community members and a poster to better
communicate Australian Apprenticeship arrangements to Indigenous
communities. |
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Key
features included the use of plain English and a ‘story-board’
presentation with limited amount of text. |
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NT
Human Services Training Advisory Council established a
small working group, including the NT AAC, a member of
the Indigenous community and the project team. |
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Ideas
and concepts were developed and market tested with a face-to-face
presentation of the final draft to a DEST/DEET/AAC Contract
Management Meeting. |
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| 8 |
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| • |
The
project has been completed and finished products are currently
being distributed throughout the Territory by NT AAC Field
Officers as they visit remote communities to undertake
sign ups or six month routine visits with employers and
apprentices. |
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NT
AAC Field Officers record the name of each community and
community contact officer so that at a later date the
NT AAC can review the impact of the project to determine
if there has been an increase in the number and retention
of Australian Apprentices. |
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At
present, there appears to be continual small increase
in the number of Indigenous persons undertaking Australian Apprenticeships
in remote communities. |
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A
review of the impact of the specialised promotional materials
will be carried out in the first half of the 2005. |
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| 9 |
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Any
re-planning will occur following the evaluation of the
initiative in 2005. |
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