Recognition for Indigenous events

Hutchies has recognised recent major Indigenous events in the Australian calendar.

On May 26, the team recognised National Sorry Day, a day which remembers, acknowledges and pays tribute to members of the Stolen Generations and the history of Indigenous children being taken from their families by governments between the 1800s and 1970s.

This day now gives people the chance to come together and take steps towards healing.

May 27 marked 52 years since Australians voted in the 1967 referendum to include Indigenous Australians as people under the constitution and to be counted in the census.

May 27 to June 3 was National Reconciliation Week with the theme “Grounded in Truth: Walk Together with Courage”.

It asks Australians to look at colonial history and acknowledge mistakes and injustices.

It asks that the burden of history should not be carried by Indigenous Australians alone and that history – good and bad – is shared and all Australians should acknowledge it and walk together into the future.

View this post on Instagram

Hutchies has been celebrating National Reconciliation Week in our offices and reflecting on our Statim Yaga Indigenous training and employment initiative. Statim Yaga has trained and placed more than 350 First Australians into meaningful construction careers since it began in partnership with the Australian Government in 2015. We’ve set a bold new target to reach 550+ by 2020. We’re committed to building a shared future that promotes reconciliation and opportunity for all Australians. See more of our journey by searching Statim Yaga or Hutchies Careers. ••• •••••• ••• #statimyaga #indigenouscareers #construction #employmentparity #nrw2019 #groundedintruth #walktogetherwithcourage @reconciliationaus

NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday.

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Mark Kucks, Hutchies’ Indige-nous program manager, described the Statim-Yaga (start work) program as Hutchies’ contribution to real reconciliation.

Mark said Statim-Yaga had put more than 350 Indigenous Austra-lians into work and had entered into contracts for more than $20 million with 70-plus Indigenous businesses.

“This is making a massive impact on those people and families we are helping,” said Mark.

“We have set new goals to put 550 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into construction careers by the end of 2020 and we are aiming to increase our Indig-enous business spend each year going forward.

“Thankyou to everyone who has embraced the Statim-Yaga program and, if anyone would like more information regarding the program or are keen to get involved, please reach out to either myself or one of our team – Joel Anderson, Emma White or Carmen Lasserre (Queensland), Glen Duncan (New South Wales) and Naomi Prior (Victoria).”