NAB has today released the first report in Australia to assess both the financial and social value of a corporate Indigenous employment program.
The report found that NAB’s Indigenous traineeship programs deliver significant financial value through the increased employability and earning potential of participants, as well as providing social value such as improved self-esteem and communication skills.
NAB’s report comes ahead of the release of the Federal Government’s Indigenous Jobs and Training Review. It shows a significant impact in the area of employment that forms part of the Government’s broader Closing the Gap commitments.
“We know that providing a job opportunity to an Indigenous Australian can impact their financial stability but a job is so much more than that. This report completes the picture, establishing that the impact is much broader than simply providing an income,” said Glen Brennan, Head of Indigenous Finance and Development at NAB.
School-based trainees cited improved financial capability (90 per cent of respondents), improved employability (93 per cent), improved confidence and self-esteem (86 per cent) and improved social and communication skills (72 per cent) as key outcomes from completing the program.
Improved financial capability, employability, confidence and self-esteem and social and communication skills were reported as positive outcomes of the program by all of the full-time trainees.
The report found that the NAB school-based traineeship program delivered a social and financial value of $2.71 for every dollar invested, while the full-time traineeship program delivered $3.14 for every dollar invested.
NAB has been running Indigenous traineeships since 2009. In that time it has trained 310 Indigenous employees. In 2013, 73 per cent of school-based trainees and 71 per cent of full-time trainees retained jobs at NAB.
NAB school-based trainees are provided with two years part-time employment, enrolment in TAFE Certificate II in Business Administration and mentoring from NAB employees and external partners. NAB currently has 70 school-based trainees.
One year of full-time employment is provided to full-time trainees, in addition to enrolment in a TAFE Certificate III or IV in Business Administration and mentoring from NAB employees and external partners. NAB currently has 20 full-time trainees.
The report, independently developed by Ernst and Young, assessed the broader social impact and financial impacts of NAB’s Indigenous school-based and full-time traineeships delivered in the three years to financial year 2014 to stakeholders. There were 66 surveys completed by school-based trainees, full-time trainees, branch managers and group training organisations. The results were validated through interviews conducted with school-based trainees, full-time trainees, trainee families, branch managers, NAB employees, group training organisations and trainee communities.
