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Since commencing the Indigenous Graduate
program with the department, I’ve had so many
great opportunities and its been an amazing
journey and I’ve learnt so much. I think it’s
really important that young Indigenous people
see the value in working for a department
like this department. There are so many
opportunities across the whole country for young
Indigenous people to get involved with the work that we do.
Give back to their communities
if that’s what they’re interested in doing.
Kahli is a young woman achieving her goals.
After only three and a half years with the
Department of Human Services, Kahli has
established a fantastic career. I definitely
see my career in the department being a long
term career and there’s definitely opportunities
to move around. Kahli came into the department through the
National Graduate program
after finishing studies in Human Resources
and Industrial Relations. Professionally, it
was really supportive, I had great managers
throughout the program. They provided me with
a lot of guidance and support and helped
me develop my skills in the different areas
that I worked in. Socially as well it was
really supportive. The other graduates were
great as well, we developed a good little
network and hung out outside of work.
The department’s National Graduate program meant
Kahli experienced different roles – through a
placement plan. And then once I’d completed
the program I was able to work in workplace
relations to be placed in a permanent ongoing
position in that space. And develop my career
in workplace relations from there. Kahli
was also given a lot of support from the department
and those around her. So when I commenced
my graduate program I was assigned a buddy
who was from the previous year's intake
of graduates and she was able to provide me
with that support. And give me insights into
what her experience was like and what I could
expect and it was good to be able to talk
to somebody at that level. She’s also made some
great relationships through the department’s
mentoring program. So in the department we
have a mentoring program where Indigenous
staff, more junior or starting off in the
department are assigned a more senior, more
experienced mentor just to help them with
life in the public service, their job in the
department and mentoring relationships.
The Department of Human Services wants Indigenous
Australians to be part of their national
workforce in a wide range of job opportunities.
If you want to join the department and give back
to your community then there’s opportunities
all around the country to do that. And
there’s work all over Australia. But at
the same time if you’re interested in working in,
whether its law or HR or finance, there’s
also opportunities to develop your expertise
and progress your career in those areas.