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Hi everyone. I’m standing in front of the Tiwi Island Shire Council building, you can
see. They call that the Whitehouse. And I’m going to be taking you through the CDEP program.
Finding employment can be hard when you are living on a remote community in the Territory.
CDEP helps us to develop skills and give us lots of knowledge.
The main role of CDEP is to skill up Indigenous peoples for full time or part time employment
anywhere in Australia, or the world for that matter.
CDEP is Community Development Employment Program. A lot of people get an idea and diverse work
experience areas to sit in and do work experience. They can do studying in any place. We can
send them away to do the studying, the flexibility of how we can use the participants.
G’day
How you going old man?
I’m good, yourself?
What’s your main role here, what’d ya do?
I’m just picking up customers from Bathurst to Melville, everyday.
Everyday? So it’s 24/7 for you, ay?
Yep
We got 80 to 90 positions in various areas such as the Shire Council which is the biggest
employer, women’s centres, Community Development Programs and work experience areas.
Arnold Tipiloura is in his second year as an apprentice doing mechanics, fixing cars,
outboard marines, lawn mowers, you name it.
Good, ay? It brings pride in the community for you?
Yep, help the community, fix anything they want. Basically, the whole town, ‘cos the
Shire Council run this place. I always wanted to be a mechanic, and I got the job and I’m
just trying to keep it up.
The bad points about it is the availability of employment on remote communities and it’s
limited to the 3.5 hours and it’s sort of restrictive in that sort of way in the money
you can earn and the income, capacity building you can get.
I’m working at the office, generally cleaning around, I’m working at parks the cars.
How long you been with CDEP for?
Ah, 20, 30 years back now.
You need more, more jobs on the island here at Wurrumiyanga and it brings a lot of aspects
for the community itself, and brings pride back in the community.