Indigenous interns soaring, says CareerTrackers report

Indigenous interns are consistently matching or outperforming their non-Indigenous counterparts, according to the new report from CareerTrackers gauging the benefit of its programs for employers.

CareerTrackers’ initiatives assist Indigenous university students by placing them with private-sector companies for paid, long-term internships with a view to full-time employment once their university studies are complete.

The study found that CareerTrackers’ Indigenous interns exhibited higher productivity compared to non-Indigenous interns. It was found that across all indicators, CareerTrackers interns performed at least to the same standard as non-Indigenous interns.

Funded by JP Morgan, the study was designed to measure the economic and social value of CareerTrackers’ programs. At present, only 40 percent of Indigenous university students graduate; 94 percent of CareerTrackers participants graduate from university.

"What the report is saying is that companies are having more confidence to scale up their number of Indigenous interns because they are performing at the same level, and in some areas higher than non-Indigenous interns," said founder of CareerTrackers, Michael Combs.

"Companies aren't simply employing them as part of Reconciliation Action Plan commitments, but employing them because they are filling a need to employ the best possible talent."

Companies that have formed partnerships with CareerTrackers include Qantas, NAB, Macquarie, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Origin, Lend Lease, SGB Architects and many more.

by John Maguire