Table 3 Summary of themes and strategies to mangan dunguludja ngatan (build strong employment)

Safety

Acknowledgement of the past and reconciling for the future:

 • Cultural inclusion and healing

 • Physical (demolish and rebuild)

 • Visual trust

 • Participation—in Aboriginal celebrations

 • Engagement—visit Aboriginal services

 • Community connection sustained within and external to the workplace

‘…just to see those faces, your healing is not just the pill, but it’s seeing those faces and just knowing that and coming in gives you comfort’. [P7—Aboriginal].

‘There are ups and downs working in mainstream, you yearn for your Aboriginal peers’ [P6—Aboriginal].

1. Embed a commitment to strengthen the Aboriginal workforce to facilitate healing within the building and external to it

2. Co-design buildings and physical spaces with the Aboriginal community to ensure cultural safety from a visual perspective

3. Participate in Aboriginal celebrations as a sign of respect and reconciliation

4. Regularly engage with the Aboriginal community within their organisations to learn the culture

5. Embed systems of support for Aboriginal employees to ensure social inclusion and cultural connectedness both within and external to the organisation, e.g. an Aboriginal Staff Network

Pathway

Acknowledgement of opportunity:

 • Motivation

 • Flexibility

 • Sense of belonging

 • Value (cultural role models)

‘We had one Assistant in Nursing who said “I always wanted to be a midwife”, so we aimed to build her role around her aspirations and the needs of the organisation … … this led to an increased flexibility in training and changing … … given the needs change as they [Aboriginal trainee] learn’ [P20—Non-Aboriginal].

6. Develop flexible goal directed opportunities for skill development with potential and existing Aboriginal employees

7. Promote the successes/value of Aboriginal employees to the broader community

Equity

Acknowledgement of difference (mutual learning):

 • Cultural needs/learning: seeking, applying and retaining employment; sorry business

 • Clear expectations/learning differences

 • Cultural training

 • Relationships

 • Trust-partner with Aboriginal community (MoU)

 • Interagency workforce planning; gender needs (men’s business/women’s business)

‘…believe in me and I will believe in myself’ [P7—Aboriginal].

‘...we had to look at their [Aboriginal employee] personal situation and make sure that they had someone cultural to go to [while at work]’ [P20—Non-Aboriginal].

8. Co-design recruitment processes with the Aboriginal community to ensure cultural safety

9. Embed cultural training for non-Aboriginal employees

10. Develop meaningful (outcomes focused) relationships with the Aboriginal community to enable trust

11. Collaborate with the broader community to identify opportunities to develop the Aboriginal workforce together