Cater Care’s Reconciliation Action Plan in Motion

Cater Care’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has continued to build momentum since its inception over three years ago. Created to drive our awareness and support for Indigenous Australians, and to provide both business opportunities and sustainable employment, we are proud of the achievements our RAP is generating.

Earlier this year, Raylene Bellottie, a proud Nhanda woman highly experienced in Indigenous Affairs, joined Cater Care in the position of National Aboriginal Liaison Manager. Raylene is committed to creating and nurturing effective relationships between companies, Indigenous business, the community, and Government agencies.

With Raylene’s assistance, we’ve achieved a number of our 2015 RAP objectives:

• Recognition of NAIDOC Week through employee events at sites
• Sponsorship of the Irrungadji Women’s Art program
• 748 staff have completed Cater Care Cultural Awareness programs
• Support of Acknowledgement of country for Cater Care events, and
• Exceeded our Australian Employment Covenant Pledge with an additional 16 Indigenous Australians joining Cater Care
• The development of vocational training curriculums for employment opportunities in hospitality; in partnership with our clients and VTECs
• Piloted recruitment drives in remote communities, providing jobs for Aboriginal people at our remote site locations
• Invested more than 900k in development and support of Aboriginal businesses

2016 will see us continue to build on this strong foundation and work to expand Indigenous participation within our organisation. This will include the on-going development of programs and strategies aimed at building sustainable relationships, showing respect and promoting cooperative business opportunities.

We research each area we operate in, to establish communication with local communities; to learn of their specific culture, needs and aspirations, with an aim to cooperatively develop business opportunities.

The broad range of services that Cater Care offers provides a unique platform to engage meaningfully with other stakeholders, government and Indigenous communities, particularly in remote areas where there may be fewer employment and business opportunities available.

We genuinely care about the communities amongst which we live and work, and this drives us to develop the skills and awareness of our people, creating an inclusive culture that is respectful of all communities and is consistent with our values.

At Cater Care, we recognise that as a business with core values of – Care, Pride and Community we have a responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the Indigenous communities in which we operate.

To find out more information about our RAP, please email: dawn.redley@catercare.com.au