Engineering Aid Australia (EAA), a not-for-profit organisation, aims to encourage Indigenous secondary school students going into years 11 and 12, to consider a career as a professional engineer.
Engineering Aid strives to demonstrate real life examples of engineering in practice; everything from water treatment plants, to Boeing planes, to building bridges and office towers.
Providing opportunities to Indigenous students to realise the myriad career pathways available to them is important to the overall interest of furthering education; and also forms a major focus of the Federal Government’s strategy to ‘close the gap’ between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and non-Indigenous Australians.
Veolia has partnered with Engineering Aid to improve support for Indigenous students who would like to reach their educational goals; aligning closely to Veolia’s key Reconciliation Action Plan commitment to promote employment, education and training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Anne Vans-Colina, Engineering Aid Director, says programs such as Engineering Aid’s Summer School are incredibly important to the ongoing engagement of Indigenous youth in further education, workplaces and communities.
"As we commence our nineteenth IAESS (Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer School) we are finding there is much to celebrate as our former students take on leadership roles in their workplaces and communities. The support from companies, like Veolia, is vital to help these students to strive ahead in their education.”
Richard Mueller, Veolia’s Executive General Manager Technical and Innovation, said Veolia was excited to again partner with Engineering Aid to support Australia’s Indigenous youth community.
“Through Engineering Aid we are able to actively engage with Indigenous students at a crucial point in their study pathway."
As part of EngineeringAid’s 2016 Summer Schools, 45 Indigenous students will visit several projects which demonstrate multidiscipline engineering elements needed to design, construct and operate, critical infrastructure.
Mr. Mueller will present at an IAESS Communities Session, on 13 January at the University of Sydney, on the supply of treated water to rural communities.
To view Veolia’s Reconciliation Action Plan, visit our RAP page
For more information on Engineering Aid, visit www.engineeringaid.org