The final graduation event was open to not just the family and friends of the 13^th cohort, but also all past graduates and their respective family and friends. Also in attendance were the various contracting and program partners who have been integral throughout the years-long program in ensuring its success.

The event itself was bittersweet as it was both a celebration of the graduates and the program as a whole, but it was also the final opportunity for all individuals involved in the program to come together and celebrate the outcomes, work, and achievement of Yaka Dandjoo.

The program was conceived and designed to provide a new sustainable employment pathway for both local Aboriginal and unemployed people (many of whom had never been employed) to engage in a supported program with opportunities to enter the civil construction industry. The name itself means “working together” in Noongar.

  Ceremony attendees at the Dolphin Discovery Centre

  The final Cohort of Yaka Dandjoo graduates

While the program has achieved numerous social and employment outcomes, within and beyond the BORR project, it is the way in which the program brought participants, the community, and the industry together that really reflects its enduring legacy.

In the lead up to our final graduation, we asked previous graduates what the Yaka Dandjoo program and the opportunities to gain employment afterwards meant for them. Some of the answers provided included “independence”, “stability” and “life changing”.

While the Yaka Dandjoo program has reached its completion, and its last cohort of graduates are now ready to enter the industry and embark on their career journeys, we look forward to staying in touch and celebrating with the many graduates into the future.

 To find out more about the program or to express your interest in working with one of our graduates, please contact the team at people@swgateway.com.au.