The Victorian
Prospect November 2020
What’s inside:
The Victorian Prospect
We write today with a true sense of optimism having just gone for a walk in Melbourne’s northern suburbs with the sun shining, and hospitality & retail reopening. Whilst it’s hard to see people smiling with masks and sunglasses on we’re going to assume happiness by the apparent skip in many people’s step. When ‘getting on the beers’ or going ‘further up the shelf’ we trust that you’ll support local! We’d also like to take this oportunity to thank Grant for the last two years and hope you’ll enjoy reading his recap and we welcome Dianne who will offiically start with us next Wednesay after Cup Day. A message from Dianne Smith Page 3 Farewell Grant Anderson Page 4-7 Working From Home Page 8-9 Online Industry Engagement Page 10-11 Our New Social Procurement Program Page 12-13 Latrobe Valley Enterprises: advocating for change and creating opportunities Page 14-15 Good Cycles: upskilling youth for a better, sustainable future Page 16-18 Ability Works: bringing purpose & belonging to the community Page 19-21 Working with local industry in the different regions Page 22-23
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A message from
Dianne Smith
In these extraordinary times with serious economic and community challenges, I am eager to start work as the new CEO of ICN (Vic). As a proud Victorian, I want to see people getting back to work, and for our state to ‘re-boot’. It will be a privilege to lead ICN, as it will play a crucial role in recovery from the pandemic. This year has reinforced the lesson that we should not be over-reliant on international markets. So, with ICN’s focus on local content, jobs and capability, we have a golden opportunity to help grow jobs and the sectors Victoria can be ‘known for’ in future.
Also, there’s an appetite at both the state and national level to increase what is Australian-made and encourage the flow-on to exports (currently only 3% of Victorian businesses export). It’s been a tough time for Victorians this year; however, I am determined and enthusiastic about ICN’s role, which will become increasingly more important as we emerge from COVID-19. ICN benefits from the ongoing commitment from the Victorian Government and there is potential for more people to take up our specialised services and assistance. This includes the expanded and powerful mandate of the Local Jobs First policy, new Social Procurement Program and improved digital tools. Increased investment in the Social Procurement Program, for example, develops system capability which will be useful to capture commitments and achievements for reporting. With the guidance of the Board, led by Tim Piper AM, and support of the team, I intend to build on the achievements of my predecessor, Grant Anderson. I’ll bring leadership experience from a range of private and government organisations in both Melbourne and regional locations, especially in growing membership organisations. As CEO of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce (part of VCCI), I worked with a range of businesses and people, aiming to growing the Victorian economy and supporting new sectors and creating jobs. In prior roles, I also engaged closely with ICN’s main stakeholder, the Victorian Government, and have the track record, energy and enthusiasm required to grow industry networks and partnerships, new business opportunities, and to seize good jobs. I am also a Board Director of Puffing Billy, one of Victoria’s cherished visitor attractions which showcases our railway heritage as well as Victoria’s remarkable natural assets. Understanding, in depth what we make in Victoria — and could make more of, will be an important focus for me. Important also will be our team’s effective industry engagement, high quality service delivery, and a vision to grow jobs and accelerate Victoria’s recovery from COVID-19. I’m looking forward to working collaboratively with you, the Victorian industry — workers, businesses, governments — and I am very optimistic about the future. Regards
Dianne Smith Chief Executive Officer
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Farewell Grant Anderson Grant has been the Executive Director of ICN Victoria since August 2018 steering us through significant growth and change. On this, my last day with ICN Victoria I’d like to take the time to reflect on the past two and a bit years and all we have achieved together. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of the Board, the Victorian Government, in particular the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, the whole ICN network, industry bodies, alliances, SMEs, suppliers and above all else our talented team that I’m proud to say has grown significantly since August 2018. A hallmark of my career has been implementing processes and systems leading to improved efficiencies, this was an early focus to ensure we improved automation and digitalised processes and systems. It is crucial that ICN provides digitalised systems for government project proponents with dynamic information available including automated Local Jobs First employment data collection and reporting.
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We launched a new and improved Victorian Management Centre in July last year after 18 months of development. The result: a user-friendly and intuitive design that enables the measurement, monitoring and reporting of social and local impact. The ICN and Vertic teams designed a custom system with Salesforce that would meet our stakeholders needs whilst also giving us plenty of scope for further development and enhancements.
New and improved VMC launched in July 2019 As the Social Procurement Framework became more well-known and industry called out for advice on practical
applications of its use, we released a special edition of our ICN Victoria Prospect – Social & Sustainable Procurement in July 2019. This e-zine was very well received by both social procurement and industry stakeholders as the first of its kind. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know representatives from many social enterprises and aboriginal businesses, learning their capability and making connections. Through this experience and our many industry briefings, it became clear that ICN Victoria could and should have a large role to play in this space. Just 14 months later the ICN Victoria Social Procurement
Program was launched. I am proud to have played a significant role in this landmark addition to the scope and assistance available from the ICN Victoria team that will have a lasting impact. For more information please check out pages 12-13.
The ICN Social Procurement Program launched 1 September 2020 ICN Victoria is known for its industry events and one of my first noteworthy experiences in the role was the fifth annual, 2018 Victorian Manufacturing Showcase (VMS) hosted at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong. With strong regional attendance, some program highlights included a Women in Manufacturing segment as well as Advanced Materials and Collaboration, that delved into technology advancements, R&D and export opportunities. Coming from a manufacturing background I was delighted to really kick off my tenure
participating in VMS which was a successful representation of an industry very dear to my heart and its ability to develop, manufacture and export whilst creating jobs and value for our country. Building on our efforts of the previous five years but with a focus to take the next step, once again, in partnership with the Victorian Government, we proudly hosted the largest-ever Showcase, VMS19 on October 22nd, 2019. With more than 800 attendees and 88 trade show stands, it was an excellent achievement to be involved in such a strong landmark event for Victoria’s manufacturing industry.
VMS19, the largest ever Showcase on 22 October 2019, in Melbourne’s East with over 800 attendees and 88 trade show stands I’m proud to say that the continuous improvement efforts of the team and building on
inhouse capability has meant our events have gone from strength to strength, whether it be regional showcases, industry briefings, Australian Grand Prix breakfasts or the Avalon Airshow, ICN Victoria has an excellent reputation. When the global coronavirus pandemic sent everyone home, ironically whilst we were at the Australian Grand Prix for the second of our three planned events, like everyone else we were forced to adapt quickly to digital events or risk losing a vital component of our industry engagement. We have worked with external specialist companies on showcases and industry briefings and utilized Zoom webinar for smaller briefings, workshops, training and information sessions. All of which have been well received with positive feedback and referrals. For more information please check out pages 10-11.
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Our team has been working from home since March without missing a beat Thank you to everyone who has supported me personally and ICN Victoria more broadly during my time as Executive Director. Whilst today marks my retirement from this role I will continue in a number of nonexecutive board roles and will keep a keen eye on ICN Victoria and its crucial role in the economic recovery of this great State. I’d also like to extend my warmest congratulations to Dianne Smith and wish her every success as the new CEO. Thank you and bye for now. Regards
Grant Anderson As part of the ICN network’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICN Victoria played an active role in working with SMEs and the VIC government to meet the PPE and medical equipment needs of the state. Our Industry Advisors played an important role in the Victorian manufacturing industry’s response to COVID-19 pandemic and the health challenges it has presented. Released in June, our last Prospect showcases some of these efforts in detail.
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What more can one say about 2020 that hasn’t already been addressed. The word unprecedented has been used an unprecedented amount of times but of course that stands to reason in a year that caught everyone by surprise and put forward a set of challenges that demanded a reassessment of priorities. I’m very proud of our team who have all been working from home since March without missing a beat and I urge you to check out pages 8-9 for a fun spread on how they have all handled it.
Thanks Grant, we wish you all the very best and hope you enjoy calm seas in your almost-retirement. From the ICN Victoria Team! Pros pect / 7
We asked the team about their experiences working from home this year, fair to say most can’t wait to get on a plane!! What have you loved about working from home?
Not doing the frantic morning routine has been incredible - Yelena
#W
What have you miss
100% work life balance Chris
No commute, more time with family and pets; being able to dress comfortably - Cameron
Describe 2020 in One Word‌ Liberating Transformation Pyjamas Adaptability Insightful Flexible
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Best John
WFH
What do you miss most about the office?
ith g up w l n i h c t fu Ca onder my w s and the gue collea nnections o real c meetups l e virtua ver provid e n would Nelson -
sed most in 2020?
Zoom Background? n Cameron, of course!
ns with Interactio s and gue my collea from chocolate h!!! tas Yelena’s s – Lisa
Seeing all my beautiful colleagues fa ces - Tijana
What are your main take-aways from the 2020 WFH trend?
The mo importa st n is to sta t thing y positiv e in life an d stay efficien t at wor - Nelson k.
How life can change so quickly and not to take things or people for granted – John Sands
What can be achieved when necessity forces change. - Colin
ble Intolera d an children . ts rude ca mous - Anony own
(for their n…) protectio
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Online Industry Engagement inspect venues, along with planning the logistical side of traditional events e.g. catering, room layout. This would be especially my focus in the weeks leading up to our Regional Opportunities Showcases, for example. How much time had you spent in the role before it became clear that in-person events might go on hiatus, as it were? Click above for a short video with tips and tricks for best practice presenting on digital platforms
When the coronavirus forced everyone home, we had to think quick, we Zoomed with our Events Officer, Jacob Halls to find out just how he lead the transition to digital events. What were your expectations coming into the role at ICN Victoria? My impression coming into the Communications & Events Officer position at ICN Victoria was, simply put, that a significant portion of my time would be organizing and delivering in-person events across the state. This would mean travelling around Melbourne and regional Victoria to meet event partners and
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Well, I started with ICN on March 10th. On Thursday March 12th, we hosted our Defence sector event, which was the first of our three scheduled breakfast functions at the Australian Grand Prix. Although we managed to deliver our Policy in Action event on the morning of Friday March 13th, the Grand Prix itself was formally cancelled whilst we were still on-site. As an events professional, this was quite intriguing from an industry perspective, especially as the event was already in motion. However, as the following week wore on, it became increasingly apparent that face-to-face events were going to be placed on the backburner for a while… Working from Home became the norm from March 23rd. What were your thoughts at the time? Well with only a brief face-to-face introduction to the organization, it
was certainly a lot to take in with the backdrop of the pandemic uncertainty! However, the team were very understanding of my situation, which I greatly appreciated. In the first week or so, discussion within our Communications & Marketing team of two shifted to “How do we keep delivering events?” ICN Victoria was known to be quite active in putting on events, especially for project opportunities across the state. As we know, virtual events became critical worldwide, almost overnight. What was your existing experience in this area? To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t even on my radar before COVID-19 hit! Most event professionals knew they existed and were implemented to a small extent, but the demand just wasn’t there. I imagined they might become popular in another 5 or 10 years, but traditional in-person events were the status quo. So, what were your next steps? How did you set out to tackle the relatively unknown? The way I saw it was this: I needed to know as much I could about virtual events, what was available and best practices. As such, I treated it as you would an assignment for university or looking at diversifying your own business: research, research, research!! Webinar platforms were an important part of the initial process, but a lot more went into it: what does the virtual audience want to experience, how is online presenting different to in-person, what are the biggest risks of virtual events? These are some of the questions I sought to find the answer to. And it was far from a 30 minute google search, I must say!
What has happened since the Showcase?
How did the plan for ICN Victoria’s virtual events come together in the next phase? We ended up coming across an Australian company, Redback Connect, that specializes in being the technical host of managed webinars. Following a test run with Redback, we decided that they would be our technical partner for our first virtual event – the Barwon & Great South Coast Regional Opportunities Showcase. What was the process organizing this Showcase for a virtual format? Although in-person & virtual look a lot different, the level of coordination required as an event manager is very similar. Some aspects remain the same – online registration, invitation – but other aspects of virtual events require more resources. This is best exemplified by the speaker stakeholder management – presenters need to be guided & briefed on the platform, how it all works, the preparation that is required of them, even how to optimize themselves for presenting remotely such as audio & video quality. With a total of eleven speakers for the Showcase, this amounted to a significant portion of the event preparation. How did the Showcase turn out? The Barwon & Great South Coast Regional Opportunities Showcase hosted on July 24th 2020 ended
up attracting over 350 live virtual attendees, with attendee drop-off quite low. Downer & John Holland were the two largest contributors to the webinar content, with other organisations such as G21 GROW and Regional Development Victoria featuring as well. We hosted a live Q & A as the final segment of the webinar, as well as a chat feature from start to finish, to help our audience feel more engaged whilst sitting at home (or in their backyards). Peter McCracken, the Industry Adviser for the region, was an essential part of the entire event process, without whom the virtual event would not have been possible. This Showcase highlighted to the industries we work with that ICN Victoria’s events would continue to take place whilst we lived through COVID-impacted times.
“The Barwon & Great South Coast Showcase webinar has been another successful event by ICN, which helps connect businesses like John Holland to regional and local companies who have shown interest in our projects. It is important to us to engage local businesses and social enterprises on our projects, especially in a time where we need to see small and medium enterprises supported throughout the current pandemic.” - Melissa Raby, Social Procurement Manager, John Holland
In the immediate fortnight after the Showcase, we hosted two webinars: the Wonthaggi Hospital Redevelopment Industry Briefing and the Meet ADCO – Local Industry Engagement Forum for the Morwell Trade Skills Centre. With a smaller audience, the latter event with ADCO was hosted via Zoom Webinar with less resources required compared to using an external technical host and fewer speakers. What are some of your key takeaways from shifting to virtual events? The audience expectations for virtual events are quite different to traditional events. Whereas inperson attendees anticipate catering and one-on-one discussions with other attendees, platform interactivity and providing succinct, relevant content are critical to success in the virtual format. Furthermore, the platform’s ease of use is crucial for online events – “Download a new program, forget about it!” is an attendee reaction you want to try to avoid. What lies ahead for the ICN Victoria events calendar? We are currently preparing for the Geelong Social Procurement Showcase webinar that will be held on November 26th, (check out the back page for more information), which will be the first event for our Social Procurement Program since its inception in September. Further, we will be offering a Christmas Virtual Networking event in December, which will be a great opportunity for local SMEs & industry stakeholders that have missed those interactions during most of 2020 to engage, so watch this space!
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Our New Social Procurement Program On the second anniversary of the Social Procurement Framework our Program launch kicked off an exciting new frontier for ICN Victoria!
In 2018 the Victorian State Government determined that it had an opportunity to use its buying power to enter into procurement contracts that could make a real difference to all Victorians. As a result, the Social Procurement Framework (SPF) was released, encouraging project proponents to acknowledge that valuefor-money in purchasing contracts shouldn’t be decided by price alone.
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On the 2nd anniversary of the SPF release, 1 September 2020, ICN Victoria announced it had received funding from the Victorian Government to implement a Social Procurement Program effective immediately. “On behalf of ICN Victoria and the Board I am proud to announce this significant program addition to our organisation,” said Grant Anderson, then Executive Director ICN Victoria. “SPF has linkages with Local Jobs First (LJF) through its Victorian employment and economic outcomes focus which complements our existing products and services as we
continue to be responsible for LJF, administering on behalf of the Victorian Government.” As Wade Noonan, Chair JobsBank wrote in the Social and Sustainable Procurement Victorian Prospect from 2019: The SPF clearly defines social and sustainable procurement as a key value-for-money component. The framework seeks to bolster job opportunities for under-represented groups and provide greater support for businesses that prioritise social impact alongside ‘the delivery of competitively priced, high-quality construction projects, goods and services.
“The ICN Victoria Social Procurement Program will consist of developing system capability to capture commitments and achievements for SPF reporting. Creating e-learning modules, guides and toolkits for social procurement activities that ICN supports e.g. social procurement reporting through the ICN Victorian Management Centre (VMC). Supporting SPF supplier capability capture and communications. Securing new SPF opportunities from industry and government engagement. And making SPF connections that enable Victorian social employment and economic activity,” said Grant. The Program will be implemented by a team of three new employees reporting to ICN Victoria stalwart Lynn Johnson, Manager – Projects, Process and Systems. “I am passionate about raising awareness and education of Victorian Government policies that will support employment for all Victorians. I’m excited to have three equally passionate individuals join the ICN team as we all work together to make social inclusion business as usual,” said Lynn. “Brian Finnigan started as the inaugural Senior Social Procurement Adviser on 1 September. Mary Ann Xavier, Social Procurement and Benchmarking Adviser and Jhdara
Jones, Social Procurement and Benchmarking Officer joined the team 13 August and have already made their mark with internal training and information sessions.” A consistent and strong presence within the social procurement community for several years, many will know Brian Finnigan from his days at Outlook Victoria. Brian built alliances across government and industry, including with ICN as their Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Relations. Most recently, Brian has been working on strategy and delivery as an Employer Engagement Specialist with Jobsbank and DJPR Working for Victoria where he has been liaising with councils, major employment partners and key stakeholders to generate employment opportunities for Victorian jobseekers who have been affected by the pandemic. Brian has also previously worked for Brotherhood of St Laurence as Employer Engagement. Most recently, Mary Ann Xavier has worked for Health Purchasing Victoria (HPV) to build the social procurement capability of 83 metropolitan and regional health services by working closely with the Department of Treasury and Finance. She was responsible for raising awareness of strategic and operational requirements of Victoria’s Social Procurement
Framework through regional and metropolitan workshops, designed and embedded a social procurement implementation toolkit within the procurement documentation suite of the Hume region which was then rolled out to the sector. Mary Ann has also worked for Officeworks and was responsible for supply chain mapping of more than 14,000 product lines and establishing a continuous improvement framework for ethical compliance. In this capacity, she supported over 1,200 suppliers to improve their ethical compliance. Jhdara Jones comes to us from Metro Trains Melbourne, initially as a Procurement Officer managing the bill of materials for the Metro Tunnel Project and more recently, as their Social Inclusion and Social Procurement Administrator to develop, deliver and report on targets for the project. This included working on the development programs for trainees, cadets and apprentices, educating stakeholders and businesses on the targets as well as management of the supply chain for LJF and SPF reporting. “As we embark on this new dawn for ICN Victoria we are delighted to introduce an ICN Social Procurement Team of four motivated and enthusiastic advocates for social inclusion to support creating meaningful employment for all,” said Grant.
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Latrobe Valley Enterprises advocating for change and creating opportunities LVE has seen substantial growth in the last 18 months by making lasting connections and social procurement spend being monitored it has opened doors for LVE to build relationships with companies whose values align with its own. “Government initiatives such as the Social Procurement Framework (SPF) and the Local Jobs First Policy (LJF) has enabled SME’s such as us, a fair opportunity to compete for both large and small government contracts.”
Gippsland has been challenged more than most in this year of global upheaval, with wildfires, floods and the coronavirus pandemic. However, Latrobe Valley Enterprises (LVE), led by an all-female executive team is breaking the mould as advocates for change and leaders in creating opportunities for people with disabilities to thrive through meaningful and sustainable employment. Over the past 18 months LVE has experienced substantial growth with expanded services to a larger customer base culminating in a $1m investment in its signmaking department. After signing a new 5-year contract with a Tier 1 construction and maintenance company LVE were able to purchase a traffic sign printer and other equipment that will ensure their ability to compete for more work on major infrastructure projects.
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LVE’s growth strategy included adjusting its communications and aligning collateral, business cards and email signatures with its purpose. “We’ve had to quickly gain an understanding of the key players in new markets such as the traffic sign sector and we’ve had to find our niche to ensure we’re competitive in the marketplace for our service offerings,” said CEO Wendy Bezzina. LVE attributes the SPF as one of the key drivers for its success, having been embedded into contracts
“The SPF and our relationships with key organisations has given us the opportunities and the confidence to invest significantly in our business.” “We’ve joined key networks such as ICN, GROW and Social Traders, and attended as many briefing sessions for major projects as possible – because we never know where our next opportunity will come from and we want to be seen and to build awareness about our amazing organisation.” “Having access to support and resources from an organisation like ICN that’s so connected into
industry has been really beneficial to us as organisation.“ “Through our connections with those three key networks and through direct targeting and networking we’ve directly engaged with several Tier 1 companies working on major projects in Victoria that the SPF applies to. And we continue to work to increase opportunities for LVE and our supported employees.” Engaging with Social Enterprises such as LVE directly creates jobs for employees that otherwise experience barriers to employment. They gain real opportunities that truly engages them as individuals. “At LVE, our employees are at the heart of what we do, and their outcomes are our purpose every day, but we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing business world and markets to ensure we’re sustainable. We’re passionate about the role we play in creating brighter futures for everyone at LVE and we thank all those organisations who engage with Social Enterprises such as ours and those that commit to Social Procurement and help us to create that future,” said Wendy.
Click above for ICN’s ‘Fireside Zoom Chat’ with Wendy
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Good Cycles: upskilling youth for a better, sustainable future
What are the origins of Good Cycles? How did the organisation come to be? Good Cycles was established in 2013 as a social enterprise and registered charity by founders Luke and Loretta. The primary goal was to teach a young person how to fix a bike and teach them a skill. On the commercial side, the core activity was mobile bike mechanics. This was mainly initiated as servicing end-of-trip facilities in the Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs. The benefits of mobile bike mechanics are quite easy to recognize – smaller mode of transport, less congestion on the roads, ability to fulfil the same tasks as a motor vehicle-based technician. One of the early programs involved a 6-week timeframe for young people to repair and maintain a secondhand bike. We found this program had a huge social and therapeutic benefit, as it provided young people a purpose,
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meaningful connection and the ability to learn new skills. We did find it turned those who took the course into home mechanics, which is obviously handy for anyone! I joined Good Cycles in 2015 as CEO. Around this time, Good Cycles were partnering with RACV to deliver the logistics and facilities management of the Melbourne’s blue bike system. This included fixing and maintaining the bike network that was on offer to locals and tourists. In recent years, the organization has been branching out and really honing on creating employment for young people, especially those from disadvantaged groups and at-risk youth. This is being driven by our Pedal Empowerment Program, which focuses on teaching mechanical but also employability skills. This program, and its secondary element of the Supported Employment Program, operate on a transitional
employment model over a period of four to six months, with a keen emphasis on job readiness and providing a credible reference to help them find a new job in the open labour market. Good Cycles has a core mission to address the significant issue of youth unemployment that is markedly higher than the rest of the working population across Australia. Particular groups we like to become involve with include refugees, those impacted by mental health issues, and those from generationally-disadvantaged families – with 18-28 years old the primary age range. “We have a vision for a better future and better cities, in a sustainable way”. What are some of your other programs that Good Cycles is involved in? Good Cycles has a program to service and maintain 600 share cars across Melbourne, Sydney and Geelong. We clean both the inside and outside of each car, with a cargo bike used as the way to access the cars. In terms of social procurement itself, we work with various state government agencies, the City of Melbourne as well as the City of Sydney. With the City of Melbourne, we are involved in various asset management activities, as well as callouts for maintenance of their 500 compactor bins. Further, we provide food waste retrieval service for the iconic Degreaves Street’s restaurants.
Good Cycles partners with Downer to deliver shared path inspections and maintenance, largely in relation to the M80 Ring Road. Instead of the use of larger utes, cargo bikes are utilised to conduct shared path remediation and graffiti removal. What initiatives are Good Cycles most proud of? We are very passionate about educating on employability skills and all sorts of life skills that develop a young person into being job-ready. Further, this is based on around our Capabilities Framework that has the core principles of employment, financial independence, and social independence. As an organization that began by simply training bike mechanics, we have come along way. The Victorian Social Procurement Framework was released in 2018. What has been the benefit to Good Cycles? We have been involved in a number of state government tenders in recent years. For example, we were contracted by Norris Construction for a tree planting program for the Barwon Prison, which is a different project from most for Good Cycles. On another note, we received funding from the Social Enterprise Capability Vouching Stream from the VIC government, which enabled us to create our Capabilities Framework. In terms of the Social Procurement Framework, we recognise that it has had a strong, positive role in accelerating awareness and activity in this space.
What would be your comment on working with the VIC government and its Social Procurement strategy? The Framework has been really successful to-date. With input currently being requested from industry for the state government’s social enterprise strategy, we hope that the Framework will be deepened in its next iteration. Procurement engagement is great, but we would also encourage heavier involvement in Public Private Partnerships generally speaking, with an inclination for social enterprises to become involved earlier in the conversation. From a Good Cycles perspective, what is the key message you would like to aim at traditional SMEs? Most SMEs have a social and community need. Myself, I have owned and managed small businesses in retail. The way I would present social procurement is this: it is an extended opportunity for supporting your community. Good Cycles provides high-quality
products and high-quality experiences to its customers. By extension, an SME has the potential to become a social enterprise by using over 50% of their profits on their social mission. Social enterprise is not focussed on traditional charity work – it is based upon commercial success built on a quality product or service. What is your elevator pitch of Good Cycles? We are a business that creates employment and pathways for young people. We are currently seeking to expand our work in the logistics and quality of our asset management activities. Good Cycles is focussed on sustainability as a core driver as well – we advocate to get the job done with a bike rather than a ute or van.
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Good Cycles program participants have recently shared perspectives about the difference Good Cycles has made in their lives through the Youth Pathways project. Youth Pathways is a collaborative initiative sponsored by the City of Melbourne to facilitate innovation between youth-focused local organisations such as Good Cycles about how best to support opportunities for young people. The recent ‘In our Own words’ project sought to know more about the impact of partnerships and collaborations in successfully delivering impactful outcomes for program participants. Good Cycles’ Yasin, S’moe and Ali shared their insights and experiences:
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Ability Works: bringing purpose & belonging to the community Today, AWA’s social mission is to provide purpose, pride, belonging and social connections to over 150 people between the ages of 18 and 65 who require flexible work arrangements, variety of work and additional support where they can develop skills of their choice via personalised plans. The work is delivered to Government and corporate customers via four business units: Wire and Metal Fabrication, Records Management, Packing and Assembly and User Centred Design Recruitment Services. Ability Works history. How has the Business evolved over that time? Ability Works Australia (AWA) is a certified social enterprise which provides flexible on-site employment for people living with a disability and those experiencing social disadvantage. Operating since 1963 in Kew, Melbourne, Ability Works’ beginnings centred around providing woodworking opportunities for recovering Austin Hospital brain injury patients at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre site. AWA was previously known as Roytal. With a strong demand for the supported workshop opportunities and quality products being produced by ‘patients’, AWA officially became an Australian Disability Enterprise allowed to offer paid employment for a maximum of 114 people living with a disability. In 2017 when the National Insurance Disability Scheme ( NDIS) came into effect, Ability Works was able to expand and broadened its scope to include socially disadvantaged employment opportunities.
What are pathways to Ability Works? AWA has an open door for workers who are experiencing difficulties in finding and keeping employment. We have partnerships with many education providers who refer families to come and visit our site and talk to us about their needs. We encourage on-site work trials so that all parties can get a feel for
the work environment and the types of customers we provide goods and services for. Work triallers are often surprised at the variety of training and work they are exposed too. Vocational educational opportunities are delivered both on-site and oncampus in partnership with providers. We also have outreach programs with community organisations encouraging engagement and providing clear pathways to experience what we offer. Individuals and community groups can access our volunteering programs which encourage social connection with our diverse team. Our team love to work with received assistance from volunteers across a variety of functions. So by employing people living with a disability and those requiring enhanced employment support, what are the social impacts? AWA has a mission to provide as many people living with a disability and those socially disadvantaged with employment as it can. Over the many years it has been operating, hundreds of individuals and families have experienced the positive benefits of meaningful employment, skill development and stable, social connection. The business has also developed strong corporate and ‘shared value’ partnerships to provide economic, social and sustainability benefits to the community. AWA is proud to partner with such brands as Auercon, Transurban, RMIT University and Apricot Consulting to develop best practise and is focussed to align with partners who share similar values to that of Ability Works: Altruism, Responsiveness, Inventive, Prioritise Relationships.
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contractors to assist in reaching mandated targets for social enterprise inclusion. AWA’s breadth of service offer and expertise gives consortiums and government lots of choice when it comes to scoping out work opportunities. AWA has completed MIG and resistence welding jobs, temporary wire fencing repair work, spray painting, digitisation and scanning of paper records, postage and mail handing, component assembly, testing and rework. Having on-site engineers, tool maker, a 3D printer and a flexible workforce, means AWA can develop jigs, design equipment, use technology and invent processes which create efficient and quality driven outcomes for customers. What does being a social enterprise mean and how does it affect your operations? Being a social enterprise, AWA trades in goods and services and derives commercial income which is reinvested into providing more jobs. The State Government’s Social Procurement Framework has paved the way for organisations such as AWA to become part of the supply chain to Government and corporate work. Over the past two years AWA has benefited from the exposure this framework has encouraged. By being a social enterprise and a certified “Social Trader”, AWA has opportunities to grow brand awareness leading to engagement with infrastructure consortiums and subcontractors within the supply chain. AWA has been fortunate to secure work parcels with the North West Program Alliance, McConnell Dowell Decmil joint venture and the Cross Yarra Partnership which has contributed to the growth of its wire and metal fabrication business unit. AWA looks to being engaged direct by Government or corporates and actively pursues partnerships with suppliers or sub-
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What are the main challenges for a business such as Ability Works? As a not for profit, the business runs very lean. This necessitates the need for grants, pro-bono assistance and very efficient use of available supervisory, management and administrative resource.
One of AWA’s biggest challenges to grow is its current leased site. To expand services and employ more people, AWA needs to have a larger fit for purpose site where containers can be unloaded, trucks and forklifts can safely handle inventory movement, equipment can be properly installed and operate safely with appropriate ventilation. The new site also needs to have all the appropriate accessibility and safety measures, to ensure social distancing requirements, maintain our Quality Standard certification ISO9001:2015 and good WorkSafe record. The challenge to find a suitable new site is real and AWA is seeking corporate and philanthropic support to help attain growth ambitions. Key messages for becoming a social enterprise and being involved with Social Procurement AWA has found that building profile, networks and continuously offering solutions and ideas is key
to being considered for work. Often organisations have not previously dealt with a social enterprise, so education about our capabilities is critical. Partnering effectively takes patience and common goals. AWA is always keen to understand customer needs and offer a solutions focussed approach which is often innovative and unexpected. Encouraging potential customers to experience the business first hand early in discussions is a key ingredient to developing partnerships. Site visits open opportunities more effectively than any sales collateral or online meetings. It is then that a true appreciation of the work the team achieves is fully appreciated. Meeting and speaking with team members who are welding in wheelchairs, making metal brushes with no eye sight, safely operating pallet jacks with no hearing, being given a job for the first time in years, delivers the impact in spades. It is then that the most powerful connections are made and organisations jump at the chance to be part of something authentic and delivering positive social impact.
Mark Galotta’s Story Mark was 17 when he chose welding as a profession, having done some welding with his dad. He completed a 4 year apprenticeship at 18 and completed it 2 weeks prior to having a motor vehicle accident. Whilst doing his apprenticeship, he worked as a boilermaker, full time welding signage frames. Welding was his passion. His motor vehicle accident in August 2007 resulted in a fractured neck. He broke his back in two places causing paraplegia, broke 3 ribs, developed a collapsed lung, had 10 bleeds on his brain, one caused a haemorrhage resulting in a stroke. This changed his life forever. He was told he’d never walk again, dress himself, cook for himself or live alone. Determined to get with life, in 2010 he took over the business he previously worked in prior to his accident. He performed administrative functions like getting quotes, ordering steel and allocating work. He did that for two years then decided to close the business and
get back to his passion, welding. For the next 2 years he was able to weld in a reduced capacity but found himself unable to meet required outputs. This resulted in him being made redundant, as the organisations felt he required too much additional support. Since being at Ability Works Australia he gets the support and structure he needs. He is able to work with supervisors and a tool maker to make modifications to his work area and work at his passion – welding. He also works in a variety of other jobs. Besides the obvious benefits of financial stability, many of the other benefits were a surprise. Being part of a cohesive team, getting out of the house, meeting new people many with a disability, making friends and working on major and minor construction projects around Melbourne.
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Working with local industry in the different regions
The impacts of COVID-19 can be felt across all sectors and regions in Victoria, as we continue to advocate for the use of Victorian goods and services on construction and infrastructure projects.
As the project pipeline continues to grow, so does the need for participation from Victoria’s local industry. A list of current strategic projects across the different regions can be found here.
Construction and infrastructure projects in regional Victoria are a vital component of the project pipeline as it enables metropolitan and regional suppliers to come together and work collaboratively.
We are seeing an increasing number of projects focussed on regional areas that will enable opportunities for regional builders and suppliers within those areas to participate in government procurement.
It is pleasing to see that government agencies are now considering different strategies for incorporating the use of regionally based businesses on large-scale projects.
The Local Jobs First Commissioner has been actively meeting with project managers to encourage the use of regional builders and suppliers, particularly on regionally based projects where applicable. Bringing construction and infrastructure opportunities to the regions creates a flow-on effect for local communities, providing work as well as training opportunities for cadets, apprentices and trainees. Through the Major Projects Skills Guarantee (MPSG), all construction projects valued at over twenty million dollars are required to use Victorian apprentices, trainees, or cadets for at least ten percent of the total estimated labour hours. This ongoing investment in the next generation of workers will increase workforce capabilities and equip them with the skills they need.
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Most recently, we have seen major contractors’ breakdown largescale project work packages into smaller packages to enable more opportunities for regionally based businesses to participate in those projects.
Furthermore, there has been a consistent effort to collaborate with the Industry Capability Network (ICN) Victoria to gain a better understanding of the local landscape and availability of regional builders and suppliers, prior to commencing with the project development phase. The Local Jobs First policy not only provides local industry with opportunities to participate in government procurement, it is also providing a platform for different parts of the supply chain and sectors to work collaboratively and learn from each other. If you are an agency, we would strongly encourage you to
include consideration for regional engagement during the tender phase of a project. Metropolitan builders are also encouraged to include a strategy for regional engagement during both the tender and project implementation phase. The Local Jobs First Commissioner and Office will continue to advocate on behalf of Victoria’s local industry, enabling more opportunities for local businesses based in regional Victoria to participate in government procurement.
The Victorian Government has provided $500 million to the Working for Victoria initiative to help our community and contribute to Victoria’s ability to respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As part of this, a $50-million Agriculture Workforce Plan will provide dedicated support for our agriculture, food processing and critical food supply chain businesses. Working for Victoria is part of the Victorian Government’s $1.7 billion Economic Survival Package. The Victorian Government has partnered with Sidekicker to support: • • •
Jobseekers to find work Jobseekers to access online training Employers to find workers fast, with the skills and experience they need.
Jobseekers must have Australian working rights to be eligible. More information and updates can be fround here.
With both Metro Melbourne and regional Victoria achieving the goals towards COVID Normal faster than expected, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Victorian Government is committed to getting as many people back to work as quickly as possible with stimulus packages and shovel ready projects. These projects will be integral to our economic recovery and ICN wishes to ensure as many Victorian businesses as possible can Be Seen to procurers and project managers. Current Project Opportunities • Barwon and Great South Coast Project Opportunities • Geelong Arts Centre Stage 3 • Gippsland Project Opportunities • New Schools 2022 • Public Housing Renewal Program Stage 1 Shepparton Corridor Upgrade • Warrnambool Line Upgrade • Wantirna Aged Care Redevelopment Additional Resources • Company profile user guide • How to submit an expression of interest • How to set up your company capabilities You may also find this webinar filmed earlier this year with Yarra Ranges Council, useful: Welcome to ICN
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