Uluru’s Voyages Indigenous Tourism offers Ayers Rock-based jobs path

More than 300 indigenous people now work at Ayers Rock Resort, compared with just two back in 2011.

Five years ago, the shopping centre and sprawling guestrooms at Ayers Rock Resort looked little different from similar complexes around Australia. Despite operating in the shadow of Uluru, there was a distinct absence of Aboriginal employees and culture.

Walking into the resort today, the transformation is astonishing.

The first thing you may notice is traditional owner Leroy Lester giving his half-hour talk on hunting weapons to an enthralled audience, while Aboriginal artists quietly work beside a smoking fire.

On the other side of the green there’s a dot-painting class, then inside the shopping square you will find the Kulata Academy Cafe, run entirely by young indigenous employees.

More than 300 indigenous people work at the resort, compared with just two back in 2011 when the Indigenous Land Corporation acquired it. These employees now make up more than one in three resort workers.

The jobs range from food, beverage and bar work to room cleaning and concierge. About 100 trainees a year are brought to the resort to work towards Certificate III qualifications.

While the mining industry has led the way in employing large numbers of Aborigines, the ser­vices sector is seven times larger as a share of gross domestic product and much more labour intensive. The potential to engage and train indigenous workers is vast, given that retail and tourism businesses operate in many of the remote places where Aboriginal people live.

Coles and Woolworths employ more than 4000 indigenous workers, and both recently have announced plans to expand numbers in coming years. Like the mining industry, Woolworths has been promoting its indigenous strategy through an extensive marketing campaign.

Andrew Williams, chief executive of resort operator Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, says that after five years of operation about 50 indigenous employees have moved into supervisory or leadership roles; two have been promoted to general manager positions. After acquiring the resort, Voyages set up the Voyages National Indigenous Training Academy to engage trainees from across Australia, including many places where indigenous youths struggle to find work.

The ILC was established in 1995 by the Keating government to generate economic, environmental and cultural benefits for indigenous Australians through land acquisition. Before buying Ayers Rock Resort it owned cattle stations.

“Tourism and hospitality have a lot of entry-level positions,” Williams says. “It is geographically diverse; a lot of tourism businesses are in regional and remote locations, and it is an industry which still today you can join in an entry-level position and develop your career with on-the-job training and work your way into a general manager position.”

On the day I visit the cafe Clint Hardy, 20, from Brewarrina, NSW, is turning out espresso coffees at a rapid rate as customer numbers swell during lunch hour. Hardy has been a trainee for just six months and already seems to have become an accomplished barista.

Some trainees are quite young and far from home, with a large number hailing from Queensland. Even though they miss their families, the camaraderie generated by the group seems to get them through.

In the nearby Wintjiri gallery, Torres Strait Islander Tyler Baira, 21, works as a salesman cum cultural expert after starting as a trainee two years ago. He plays the didgeridoo that my wife bought for me as a birthday present, telling me I need to think about “beat box” rhythm and not to be afraid of making “silly ­noises” with my lips.

Voyages also hires qualified indigenous workers who can act as managers or team leaders. It is a busy program, with intakes starting every six weeks. On completion of their training, the trainees are offered guaranteed employment with Voyages or another industry partner such as the Accor hotel group.

In addition to Ayers Rock, Voyages operates the Mossman Gorge eco-tourism centre north of Cairns, which employs 79 indigenous people. This represents almost nine in 10 workers at the resort. In Western Australia Voyages operates Home Valley Station, on the Gibb River Road, Kununurra, which has 11 indigenous employees, or about one in four workers.

Williams says the cultural programs are an important part of the employment strategy as they engage the local Anangu people, proving that indigenous people can pursue careers in jobs that relate directly to their culture.

Voyages spends about $1 million a year on the free cultural activities at the resort, which includes theatre performances by the Mani Mani dancers, who perform daily for visitors. Eleven people are engaged in these activities.

There are 16 Anangu people in the program who are employed by Voyages while undertaking training and work activities to gain the skills, experience and qualifications required to move into vacancies. The cultural activities help to build the Uluru brand and the experience, Williams says.

“It (the cultural program) is not the No 1 driver of people coming to the resort,” he says. “Principally they are coming to see Uluru, and in some instances they may be pleasantly surprised with the range of cultural acts that are on offer. We are increasingly communicating that in our marketing material as being one of the key features of the destination and a key part of the experience, and the feedback on that is very positive.”

Williams thinks the jobs for indigenous trainees will help to build networks among indigenous people that may help their careers for many years to come.

Voyages’ relationship with the Accor hotel group can provide opportunities for the graduates around Australia, and possibly overseas. “We are trying to build those networks to create pathways for people,” he says.

To see a video of Torres Strait Islander Tyler Baira playing the author’s didgeridoo go to: theaustralian.com.au/careers