Yaama to my Our Sistahood community,
Understanding the need for empowered Indigenous communities begins with the Education of First Nations individuals at a grassroots level, to help increase their knowledge, understanding and aspirations, where they can support and gain clarity around their career and business goals.
The collaboration of our community of Indigenous and non- Indigenous Educators, through the development of the Our Sisterhood LMS (Learning Management System), which offers remote and informative e-course modules, based around the 7 Areas of Life.
We have created an LMS to provide culturally respectful modules by qualified teachers. With these culturally respectful resources available to our female Indigenous community, we are able to involve respected Indigenous Our Sistahood mentors, who knowledge share, to help support and fast track those female Indigenous participants to feel more focused, to achieve positive business and employment outcomes.
This project also provides female Indigenous participants with the resources and tools needed to be employable in today’s market or to develop an idea into a profitable business.
Indigenous women will have the opportunity to have a better understanding of the structure and systems necessary to be competitive in the current recruitment process, ensuring employability along with a clear understanding of the direction they need to take to become economically sustainable in the current working environment.
For those participants who have a business idea, this project will provide them direction, clarity, and mentorship to turn their idea into a profitable venture.
Our Sistahood also aims to reduce the community stigma of women feeling shamed for becoming economically and educated.
This results in economic sustainability and direction for women in all 7 Areas of Life.
Statistics demonstrate that the “The employment rate for Indigenous Australians is 40% compared to 57% for the total Australian population”. 60% of Indigenous workers are full-time, compared to 72% for non-Indigenous”. This demonstrates that many indigenous Australians are under-skilled, under-employed, under-skilled, uneducated. This project seeks to address these inequalities by working with people to achieve tangible outcomes to support them in securing an economically viable future. (www.actu.org.au>indifact).
The future mentorship program will offer education in a way that is culturally accepted, without shame, where participants can utilise the support needed to engage next steps to achieve positive outcomes with their career, life, economic, home, business or community involvement.
The Our Sistahood LMS supports many Government touch points, such as Closing the Gap, Community Safety, Culture, Economic Development, Education and Employment, Empowered communities and Health and Wellbeing.
By providing the Our Sistahood LMS for remote learning, we can address current gaps in the Indigenous sector, such as:
•Mental and Relationship Health.
•Economic Sustainability.
•Business Start-ups.
•Employment Opportunities.
•Budgeting and Home Finance.
•Superannuation, and why it is important.
•An understanding of Online Safety.
•Protocols that Protect your Reputation.
•Create Networking Opportunities and Confidence.
•Ways to Promote Yourself on the Digital Landscape Safely.
•Culture and Community.
•Present Well when Job Hunting.
•Hair, Beauty, and Fashion.
The Our Sistahood LMS enables Indigenous Women, who are in different stages of their career or business development journey, to be mentors and speakers to attending Indigenous women. This supports the economic growth of the Indigenous Community, within both business and within culture.
Julie Okely.
