Taking action through employment

Meet Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project’s Kylie Rautoka and hear how she supports young Indigenous employees at CareFlight and beyond.

Tell me about IYMP?  

At Indigenous Youth Mobility Pathways Project (IYMP) we work with Indigenous youth from remote communities that come to Darwin to complete apprenticeships, studies or training. We currently support 28 young people in the Northern Territory ranging from 16 to 24. For many of our students it’s their first-time leaving home, so we offer accommodation support in a residential house with a designated youth worker, and we also help link students up with doctors, get their licence and set goals.  

Support for our young people is so important, especially school leavers. There can be barriers that prevent these young people gaining employment, little things like not having a licence or somewhere to live. We provide support to help Indigenous youth overcome these barriers and take the next step in their pathway to employment. We also help them manage work obligations with cultural obligations to ensure they keep up with their studies and employment whilst also balancing their cultural duties.  

We’re currently supporting three CareFlight employees; Jordan, Justin and Tanesha. Jordan and Justin are in their first year of a four-year Engineering Apprenticeship and Tanesha has recently commenced her Administration Traineeship. Our support here ranges from assisting with training plans, linking up with supervisors, facilitating tutoring and mentoring them through their transition from school to work. 

How have you seen CareFlight’s apprentices and trainees grow in the last year?  

Jordan and Justin have both grown in confidence since first starting their Engineering Apprenticeship with CareFlight a year ago. They’ve become more confident in their studies and seem to be thriving in their roles at work.  

Tanesha is also growing in confidence, especially considering she’s come straight out of year 12. She’s been exposed to a lot of different areas including fundraising, marketing and also reception where she’s the first point of contact for the organisation. Being exposed to all these different roles is what a traineeship is all about – it builds confidence and provides insight into different skillsets and personalities.  

What’s your advice to those looking to support reconciliation? 

I think all organisations are moving in the reconciliation space. Reconciliation is part of everything we do – not just one week.  

It’s about looking at the big picture, how can you support Indigenous businesses and workers? Can they cater at your event? Can they provide security or design work? When a young person walks in and sees Indigenous faces there they think “I can do this”. Not only does it empower the next generation, it also means the elders can see that their hard work has paid off. Reconciliation is about recognising that filling roles with Indigenous employees not only moves a workplace forward, but also families and the community as a whole.  

Reconciliation moves everybody forward together.  

IYMP encourages young people and employers to visit their website to either apply for support or facilitate employment opportunities: https://iymp.com.au/