Indigenous Community Volunteers

Motivated by a six-week stint as a volunteer with ICV in Katherine, third-generation public servant Tracy Svensson is now the national volunteer manager for
Indigenous Community Volunteers.

It all started when Dr. Peter Shergold, Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, wrote to all Heads of Australian Government Departments in November last year seeking support for the ICV Public Service Secondee program.

Tracy, from the Department of Transport and Regional Services, was the first public servant to take up the opportunity to be a volunteer, and went on secondment at the request of Burridj Aboriginal Group Training Company in Katherine in the Northern Territory. Tracy worked closely with Didge Campbell, coincidentally the first Indigenous female manager of a Group Training Organisation, as a coach in business management.

In December 2004 the secondment began, even before Tracy arrived in Katherine, when emails started between her and Didge in preparation for an early February 2005 start date. Right from the beginning it appeared there was an intriguing connection between the two women from very different backgrounds who were to come together through ICV.

Burridj is Katherine’s only Group Training Company and employs apprentices and trainees, placing them with ‘host’ employers, usually in small to medium enterprises. Burridj then manages the apprentices and takes the administrative and development load away from the ‘host’ employer. Burridj provides a link to the relevant training providers in the area and ensures the apprentices are supported in the workplace. The ‘host’ employer is responsible for providing on-the-job training, supervision and a safe, fair work environment.

While working together Tracy and Didge focussed on a number of business issues, including:

• Preparation of a presentation to all staff on the role of Burridj and its sister company Waikan (a training provider for new apprentices) — a great way to learn about the business;

• A viability proposal for the Board for an additional field officer (which was accepted and has been implemented);

Tracy believes (naively perhaps) that if this region could work with these differences and successfully live together with respect and harmony it would provide lessons for many other areas of our country and kick-start true reconciliation.

From Didge’s perspective the opportunity has provided her with immediate hands on help in her new role sharing tools for good work practices and dealing with human resources and management issues. Didge now has a vision of where she’d like to take Burridj in the future and is very excited about working towards that goal. Didge feels that Tracy has been instrumental in assisting her to settle in to her new role and has brought a lot of expertise to Burridj. The organisation will now use this experience to grow and improve its services for their clients.

Didge also found it amazing that two women from very different backgrounds have found so many things in common. Initially she wondered if they would get along well and be able to work together but she knew from the first time they started to email each other that they would get on like a house on fire and they have! Tracy and Didge still keep in regualr contact to this day.

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