Let’s recognise and celebrate NAIDOC week

NAIDOC week is a time to recognise and celebrate the history, knowledge, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

In honour of NAIDOC week, we would like to share our client Shane’s story. Shane is part of the Wagyl Kaip Southern Noongar Corporation and is a Noongar person. His Aboriginal family is Hayward-Jackson.

When we asked Shane what NAIDOC week means to him, he shared, “It is a week of getting together with community, celebrating our achievements, looking forward to the future of our people and respecting our culture. I celebrate through community BBQs, performances, dance and song, and the NAIDOC Ball where they choose a Mr and Mrs NAIDOC.”

Shane reached out to Edge after several of his fellow employees at his previous workplace recommended our service. Shane is currently working at Water Corporation in Undergraduate Projects for the Strategic Performance Management team. Shane is loving his role and the security employment has provided him, “I am in that stage of life where I want steady employment and a career path.”

“Edge has been great, it’s good to have the support in the job now, and the job search help that was available, like setting up MyGov” said Shane.

Working closely with his Edge Job Coach, Shane has found that he has really benefited from the regular support. “They make me feel confident and supported, it’s good to have someone to chat to and to let them know how I’m doing, and to have someone to contact that’s related to work.”

We are thrilled to see Shane thriving at Water Corporation and we hope everyone is having a great NAIDOC week, recognising and celebrating more than 65,000 years of First Nations history in Australia.