Transdev John Holland Buses (TJHB) was thrilled to welcome Souths Cares’ participants in the depot Port Botany, during National Reconciliation Week.
It was fitting to host the visitors during National Reconciliation Week 2023: Be a Voice for Generations. The theme encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise.
A group of students from Patrician Brothers’ College, Fairfield visited us as part of our community partnership with the Souths Cares charity. The students are participating in the Career Pathways Program for Southern and Western Sydney communities.
Souths Cares was established in 2006 as an independent, public benevolent institution. The Souths Cares charity has been built upon the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ long and proud history of supporting the community; in particular Aboriginal and/or Torres Islander people.
Our partnership with the charity supports youths and First Nations peoples with training, wellbeing and employment opportunities.
The group of ten students, their teacher and Souths Cares’ Programs Manager, Rhys Wesser were presented with an overview of the company’s operations (including our patronage figures, since operations started 1 April 2022 of nearly 45 million customers) and, importantly, our reconciliation commitments.
TJHB’s Indigenous and Diversity Training Coordinator, Maia Dowd shared his work experiences with the students. They were given a tour of the facilities and the mechanics workshop. They were also presented with expressions of interest for employment and training opportunities, including apprenticeships starting early 2024.
TJHB is committed to being a culturally safe working environment through tailored cultural awareness support and education. We aim to increase training, employment and procurement opportunities for First Nations Australians.