Indigenous education enquiry

26 July 1999

Mr John Carter
Secretary
Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and
Education References Committee
S1.61 Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Mr Carter

As an organisation which has a strong commitment to encouraging indigenous education and employment in our industry sector and varied success in achieving it, the Australian Library and Information Association welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into indigenous education being conducted by your Senate Committee.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is the professional association for the Australian library and information services sector. The Association was established in 1937, and has 6500 personal members and 1500 institutional members. It seeks to promote and improve the services of libraries and other information agencies and to improve the standard of library and information personnel.

History of ALIA's indigenous employment strategy

The Association is committed to encouraging more indigenous people to use library and information services. To achieve this goal, it is essential to ensure that indigenous people are well represented at all levels within the library and information sector. As highlighted in our submission to the National Review of Aboriginal Education in 1994, there can be no significant increase in permanent employment opportunities available to indigenous Australians in the library and information sector, without appropriate initiatives to increase the number of indigenous people studying and completing courses in library and information studies.

In response to the recommendations of the National Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and to improve employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the library and information sector, ALIA developed an indigenous employment strategy. ALIA's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy ('the Strategy') was implemented in 1995 in co-operation with the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training.

ALIA notes the inquiry's terms of reference. In our submission to this inquiry, ALIA will offer comment on the obstacles to the achieving indigenous participation in education and training opportunities within the library and information sector.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy is administered by ALIA and now receives funding from the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business.

The Strategy was developed to achieve the following outcomes:

• an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people choosing to study courses in library and information studies.
• an increase in the number of trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander librarians and library technicians.
• better access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to library, information and archives resources through improved representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working within the sector.
• a means of making libraries and information organisations more relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The Strategy offers cadetships, scholarships and, until 1998, traineeships to indigenous people seeking to become librarians and library technicians within the library and information sector. Under the program, participants must be accepted by an employing agency and an educational institution, before commencing a cadetship or scholarship. Participants must enrol in library technician or librarianship courses. The study/work pattern consists of a study period of thirty nine weeks and thirteen weeks of practical training with the participant's employer. Participants receive a wage under the Strategy which is paid by the employer. The employer is reimbursed from Strategy funds for wages paid to the employee during the study period.

As part of the Strategy, the Association has also developed a mentoring scheme which was introduced in 1997. The scheme is designed to provide additional workplace and academic support for participants. Mentors provide cadets with overall guidance and support on an ongoing basis and also provide ALIA and the cadet's employer with feedback on the cadet's progress during the cadetship. The mentoring scheme is an important feature of the Strategy.

Courses in library and information studies

The Association works closely with educational institutions delivering courses in library and information studies. The Association has a process for recognising courses in library and information studies. Cadets and scholars participating in the Strategy must be enrolled in an ALIA-recognised course prior to commencement in the program. Educational institutions are generally very supportive of indigenous students and most institutions offer indigenous study support services, special entry and widened eligibility provisions for indigenous people seeking entry to library and information studies courses.

Recruitment and completion rates

Since the Strategy commenced in 1996, the Association has been actively promoting the program within the library and information sector. Since June 1996, fourteen people have taken up traineeships and cadetships. During this time, three traineeships have been completed and two traineeships have been terminated. Of the nine cadets who have joined the program, one cadetship has been completed and four cadetships have been terminated. The Association is expecting four cadetships to be completed by March 2000 when funding for the program ceases. In October 1998, the Association reached an agreement with the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA) to extend the operation of the Strategy to indigenous people seeking to work as archivists. Since this agreement, an indigenous archivist cadet has been recruited to the program.

Barriers to achieving greater indigenous participation in education and training opportunities within the library and information sector

The Strategy has highlighted some of the barriers to improving indigenous representation in library schools and more broadly, within the library and information sector. It may not be possible to explain in every case why a cadet has not completed the program or why the Association has experienced difficulties in securing positions and programs under its agreement with the Commonwealth . However, for the purposes of this submission, we are able to make some general observations about the barriers to increasing the rate of indigenous participation in education and training within the context of the Strategy.

Cultural obligations
In our experience, the home environment has a major influence on how the cadet is performing at work and at university. Most cadets who do not complete the program are unable to continue because of the time and emotional costs of managing work and study commitments and meeting immediate and extended family obligations. For many indigenous people, cultural obligations can go beyond those of many other Australians. Generally speaking, if a cadet is experiencing problems either at home or at work because of these cultural obligations, the cadet is often reluctant to discuss the problem with colleagues and teaching staff until it is too late to resolve the problem.

Courses in librarianship
Under the program it has been difficult to encourage cadets to enrol in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in librarianship. The majority of cadets choose to complete the two year library technician's diploma. Since the program commenced, only two cadets have enrolled in first award professional courses in librarianship and both students were unable to complete the course.

Course fees not reimbursable under the Strategy
Higher Education Contribution fees and course fees for postgraduate course are not reimbursable under the Strategy. This means that a person's ability to study for undergraduate or postgraduate courses in librarianship or archives studies under this program will depend on the cadet's capacity to pay substantial course fees.

Financial constraints
The Association has found that most cadets enter the Strategy as mature-aged students and most of these cadets have their own dependents to support whilst in the Strategy. Therefore, the average cadetship of $16000 is not enough to support themselves and their families. In some cases, cadets have chosen to study part time and take on extra work in order to supplement their income. If an employer is not in a position to offer the cadet extra work, the cadet's financial burden will often interfere with his or her progress both academically and within the workplace.

Full-time study
Under the Strategy, cadets are now required to complete their study as full time students. Cadets may opt to undertake a two year diploma of library and information studies or three year bachelor course in library and information studies. Since the Strategy commenced in 1996, only one student has successfully completed the Diploma of Library and Information Studies in the two year time frame and this student had the benefit of coming from an average socio-economic background. Generally speaking, full time study does not suit the majority of cadets entering the program. Cadets have indicated a preference for part time study, mainly because such an option allows them to supplement their cadetship income but also because the full time studyload is often very demanding particularly for students who have had little exposure to tertiary education. Under the Strategy, cadets are only required to work during the vacation periods. Some employers have indicated that this does not allow a cadet to become fully integrated within the workplace. The Association would support more flexible programs which allow the cadet to participate in the workplace at regular intervals in order to facilitate this integration.

Guaranteeing permanent employment
Participating employers are required to guarantee permanent employment to the cadet at a professional or paraprofessional level, depending on the cadet's qualifications on completion of the cadetship. The reality for most employers is that it is impossible to guarantee permanent employment at the end of a two or three year cadetship. Some employers have expressed an interest in participating in the Strategy but have been reluctant to join the program because of the unavailability of a permanent position or the obligation to secure a permanent position at the completion of the cadetship. At the same time, the guarantee of employment is a powerful motive for cadets to participate in the program.

Distance education
Most cadets under the program have been recruited from the major metropolitan centers. In ALIA's experience, indigenous cadets are reluctant to leave their family and community in order to travel considerable distances to attend a tertiary institution. In our view, it is important to provide participants with the option to study externally, so as not to unnecessarily disrupt the cadet's relationship with his or her family and community. The Association has experienced some difficulties in recruiting cadets in remote and regional areas, where there was the possibility of employment because distance education is not permissible under the program.

Conclusion

To maximise participation in mainstream education, indigenous education and training programs must accommodate the special needs of indigenous people. In our experience, to have successful outcomes in an indigenous education and training program, indigenous participants must receive adequate support for their family, cultural and financial obligations. Indigenous education programs must be flexible in order to accommodate workplace, educational and social circumstances. As education is now more accessible to students through external and flexible delivery, the programs must also provide students with the capacity to take advantage of different modes of course delivery. Programs must provide employers with the option to establish supernumerary positions for training purposes. We would support greater resourcing for indigenous student centres within educational institutions.

Please find attached to this letter submissions from the Australian Society of Archivists and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resources Network. If you require further information on any aspect of our response to this inquiry, please contact me on 02 6215 8222.

Yours sincerely

Jennefer Nicholson
Acting executive director