Awards For Excellence in   Community Business Partnerships 2007 

WA Medium Business Award

Satterley Property Group (SPG) with Clarkson Community High School, West Coast TAFE and Swan TAFE

This partnership is between the property manager in a new suburban development near Perth, with the local High School and two TAFEs. It aims to meet the local business demand for teenage youths in years 11 to 12 willing to take on full or part-time employment or apprenticeships, to deliver accredited pre-apprenticeship training in selected building and construction trades and to broker job placements with local builders and contractors.

Its overall aim is to address the local trade skill shortages by providing training and experience, as well as fostering the growth of the new suburb’s economy and sense of community.

The partnership provides training and life direction to youth who may otherwise become disengaged from the local community. It gives them job opportunities and goals while enhancing the pool of labour available to employers in the building and construction trades. All partners have benefited from a raised profile resulting from publicity surrounding The Shed.

The Shed is a bold and unique training initiative designed to get a local community working together to ensure a brighter employment future for its youth and all those involved in the ongoing project. The Shed is a purpose-built 500m2 training facility comprising three separate structures on a 6,5002 block of Satterley Property Group land located within Brighton Estate, Butler, a new suburb at the northern extreme of the Perth metropolitan area.

The projects the students have completed have added to the beautification of the area, and the local building industry is now seen as a viable career option. This latter point is a key benefit as the community had been witnessing a steady flow of its youth out of the area to pursue work or further education.

WA Large Business Award – JOINT WINNERS

Rio Tinto WA Future Fund with Scitech

Rio Tinto WA Future Fund partnered with Scitech four years ago to create the “Kids’ Science State” for the purpose of increasing the scientific literacy of teachers, children and parents across WA.

It achieves this through a range of programs that improve science, technology, skills and values reaching across the State to rural and remote communities.

Both partners contribute to the success of this initiative financially and in other ways. Rio Tinto provides accommodation where it is available for the traveling exhibitions and road shows, access to expertise in areas such as geology and engineering, staff to provide logistical support and welcoming processes for regional programs and workshops are conducted for Scitech to improve skills such as business development.

Scitech makes its facilities available to Rio Tinto for corporate or staff functions, provides entry tickets to Rio Tinto for staff and their families to attend Scitech events, facilities and activities, and hosting other RioTinto Future Fund partners eg Smith Family.

This is a five year partnership which operates very cooperatively and equitably to facilitate an interest in and passion for science for young people who hopefully will choose this career path long term.

Woodside Energy with the Western Australian Museum

Woodside Energy has partnered with the Western Australian Museum to develop “The Woodside Collection” to investigate and document the marine biodiversity of the Dampier Archipelago.

The objective of The Woodside Collection is to gather data on the diversity and abundance of the marine biota in the Dampier Archipelago and the nearby continental coastline with a view to making its findings available publicly.

Woodside contributes funding, staffing, technical and scientific expertise as well as practical operational support such as aerial photography. It allows sampling of and access to its lease holdings in the area as well as producing metadata and spatial datasets.

The Museum contributes staff from across its operations and utilises scientific trainee opportunities in all sectors of the project. It has provided the communications infrastructure for the end product and is making the findings available to a world-wide audience. Both partners benefit through an increased understanding of the Dampier Peninsula marine biota and networking opportunities within each other's fields of influence. Staff morale in both partner's organisations has been boosted tremendously. The Museum benefits from the funding made available to it and from the increased scientific reputation it is now accorded internationally. The community benefits from a much better understanding of the ecosystem of the Dampier Peninsula.

WA Large Business Encouragement Award

BHP Billiton Iron Ore with the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia

BHP Billiton Iron Ore (BHP) has partnered with the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia (RLSSA) to create the “Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pools Project”.

This project focuses on providing recreational and educational swimming programs in remote Pilbara communities to encourage water safety. The Pilbara is an area where BHP Iron Ore operates.

The RLSSA was contracted by the state government to manage new swimming pools in three remote communities and deliver life saving programs funded by BHP.

Activities include swimming lessons and carnivals, lifesaving training, lap swimming and other related events requested by the community.

With this project the RLSSA provides a varied contribution and BHP makes a financial contribution of $90,000 over three years. RLSSA provides accredited managers for the facilities, develops and delivers the programs, makes the facilities available to the community for functions, provides mentoring and training to the community members and assesses/reviews programs annually. BHP staff can volunteer to assist and numerous staff members have attended these events. BHP also provides in-kind support and advice through its own indigenous personnel.

Benefits to the RLSSA include being recognised as the leading provider of aquatic facility management in remote areas and has become the preferred supplier for this service.

This project is one which assists BHP to meet its corporate responsibilities to communities and its internal policies including assisting Indigenous communities.

Excellent outcomes have been and continue to be achieved from this project which may not have been possible without BHP’s financial support.

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