CareerTrackers partnership adds to Wilson Security’s investment in Indigenous engagement

January 23 2023 

Wilson Security is proud to announce the completion of another internship program run as part of our partnership with CareerTrackers, supporting Indigenous engagement and career opportunities. Over two separate summers Wilson Security Townsville welcomed the incredibly talented Tupoa Guligo, providing him with broad experience across the company and helping him build a range of skills and capabilities to set him up for future success. 

CareerTrackers does incredible work to create internship opportunities for Indigenous university students and support them in their transition into the workforce. Through its program, it seeks to address the underrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in professional fields and create pathways for Indigenous university students to succeed in their chosen careers. Throughout their internship with participating organisations like Wilson Security, students are given additional support by CareerTrackers to help structure goals for their internship and track progress.

 

Education and experience go both ways

2022 recipient of the Indigenous Academic Award from James Cook University, Tupoa left a lasting impression on the entire team at Wilson Security and showed the potential of the CareerTrackers internship program to provide growth and experience for not just those participating but team members at Wilson Security as well.

"The support given to me by Wilson Security and CareersTrackers was exceptional,” says Tupoa. “The program as well as the support from Wilson Security – from the CEO to team members across all areas of the business – has helped mould me into the individual I am today. My experience taught me many tangible skills and strengths, such as public speaking and self-organisation that I now use daily and have also applied to my studies. "

Care was taken to support Tupoa in developing confidence across a range of scenarios, culminating in an end-of-term presentation given to stakeholders across the executive level. This gave Tupoa the chance to receive different types of feedback and increase his confidence in talking about larger concepts to key decision-makers in a company.

The exchange of ideas goes both ways. The flagship internship program exposed team members across Wilson Security to new perspectives, especially when it came to long-term strategic concepts for the company.

“Tupoa came to us at the end of his internship with some great ideas and delivered them confidently within a typical executive presentation scenario,” says Nick Frangoulis, Wilson Security CEO. “It was a strong confirmation in the value of seeking the opinions and insights of those across Wilson Security as to where we want to go as a company and how we achieve those goals.”

An ongoing commitment to Indigenous inclusion and empowerment

The CareerTrackers internship program Tupoa participated in, forms one part of Wilson Security’s larger commitment to Reconciliation, and complements the national Making Tracks program. Both programs are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion and aim to create pathways for people from underrepresented groups to access meaningful employment opportunities.

55 people took part in the Making Tracks program in 2022, which gives participants qualifications in Security Operations and a guaranteed job if they’re issued a security license. Last year’s participants were the largest cohort of the program so far, with 32 members who took part being Indigenous people from across the country and 17 of them women.

 

Wilson Security is launching our second Reconciliation Action Plan in April 2023. Our key commitments are:

• Increasing the number of Indigenous employees at Wilson;
• Fostering supportive work environments for our Indigenous employees;
• Educating our team members on the Indigenous culture, so we can learn and appreciate; and
• Improving our relationships with external Indigenous organisations and communities, by engaging with them and identifying ways in which we can provide support and opportunities.

Both the internship program and Making Tracks are important aspects of this plan, alongside a range of other commitments that seek to expand connections between Wilson Security and Indigenous groups and communities and build recruitment opportunities across the country.

If you’re interested in taking part in our Indigenous internship program to build your skills and experience in a growing and exciting sector, you can head to CareerTrackers to apply. If you want to learn more about Making Tracks, scholarships and other initiatives that form part of our Indigenous Engagement strategy, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.