Reconciling cultural differences
Saab Australia launched its first reconciliation action plan with local (Kaurna) Indigenous elder Frank Wanganeen and artist Daniel Coleman welcoming us to Kaurna country, with their native language and music.
Local Kaurna elder, Frank Wanganeen and Kaurna artist, Daniel Coleman share their culture at the launch of Saab Australia's first reconciliation action plan
Saab is proud to be a responsible, ethical organisation with a strong focus on social inclusion and diversity in its workforce.
"Diversity improves teamwork, performance and customer service; a culturally diverse workforce creates flexibility and creativity," said managing director Andy Keogh.
This plan is the next progressive step which reinforces Saab Australia's equal opportunity, social inclusion and diversity policies.
A reconciliation action plan is a framework and commitment from organisations to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; to learn about their culture; build respectful relationships; and create opportunities.
Primarily a reconciliation action plans identifies strategies and actions which align with the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap strategy. That’s closing the gap in the living standards between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
One way Saab can help achieve this is by supporting education and employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians.
"We'll do that by trying to involve and support Indigenous students with STEM education, we are already doing this through the Indigenous STEM camp we host with the Smith Family. We'll also work at developing employment opportunities either directly or through suppliers that employ Aboriginal people," said Andy Keough."
Another key element of the plan is creating learning opportunities for employees who are open to learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
"This is a one year plan where we'll track and monitor actions," said Andy Keough.
"In this first year we are in a 'reflect' phase where we're building important relationships with our local Indigenous communities to help us learn and grow".
The Saab Australia reconciliation action plan champion, Karen Hughes said, "there will be a number of key activities we'll complete in the next twelve months. Our initial focus has been in Adelaide but during the year we'll reach out to our other offices to start them on the same journey we've commenced".
The Saab Australia reconciliation action plan was created with the support of the Department of State Development, Reconciliation SA and Reconciliation Australia.