GHD wins recognition for excellence at CareerTrackers Gala Awards
Global professional services company GHD celebrated a number of awards at the recent 2023 CareerTrackers Gala Awards.
The CareerTrackers Indigenous internship program creates paid internship opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with corporate partner organisations. CareerTrackers aims to help “close the gap” in the number of Indigenous people working in professional careers by enhancing participation in the corporate workforce.
This year GHD welcomed another 19 CareerTrackers interns for the 2022/23 Summer internship period and extended their intake by hosting two pre-university students in January. To celebrate the achievements, growth and success of the summer internship period, CareerTrackers brought together interns, alumni, colleagues, and corporate partners at their annual gala ceremonies across the country.
GHD’s ongoing commitment to the CareerTrackers program was recognised at the Melbourne gala night, where the professional services company was awarded the “Partnering for Excellence” award. CareerTrackers recognised GHD’s inclusion of students from a diverse range of disciplines, including those that would not typically consider a professional services company as a career pathway. GHD also connects the interns to a wider community of Indigenous employees, through a mentoring program with CareerTrackers alumni employed at GHD. This award is a testament to GHD’s longstanding partnership and commitment to the CareerTrackers Indigenous internship program since its inception in 2010. In 2015, GHD strengthened their commitment by signing a 10x10 partnership, committing to an intake of minimum 10 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander interns annually for 10 years. Since the beginning of the partnership, GHD has proudly created meaningful internship experiences for more than 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students across many different fields of study.
This year four of our CareerTrackers interns also received ‘Gold Diaries’, which are awarded to interns who maintain a distinction average or higher throughout the year of university. Congratulations to Caitlin Hull, Pantju Nam, Tallula Harradine-Hodge and Bridie Pitchford.
In addition to a Gold Diary, GHD’s Pantju Nam also received the CareerTrackers Intern of the Year Award for South Australia. Pantju is studying a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Bachelor of Computer Science while interning with GHD’s Sustainability team. Pantju was recognised for his work with the STEM Aboriginal Student Congress with the South Australian Department of Education and his continual advocacy for the preservation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. In 2022, Pantju was also recognised for his commitment to his Culture and community by being awarded NAIDOC South Australia’s 2022 Young Person of the Year.
Grace McColm-Monaghan, Melbourne University student and GHD’s Indigenous Services intern received the Community Spirit award for Queensland and Northern Territory. Grace was recognised for her volunteer work at a local animal shelter in Darwin and is a Young Ambassador for UNICEF, where she elevates the voices of young people and was involved in organising the UNICEF summit in Sydney in 2022.
Our partnership with CareerTrackers has changed the way that GHD approaches employment, not just for Indigenous students, but more widely through the business. We have learnt how creating meaningful career opportunities requires more than just a relevant qualification – it requires demonstrating a clear purpose, developing and maintaining personal connections with immediate colleagues and across other networks, and remaining adaptable as career goals and new opportunities co-evolve. The ongoing success of our partnership is a result of clear support from our Executive leadership, dedication from the teams creating internship opportunities, and the engagement and mentoring from CareerTrackers alumni.
At GHD we’re proud to have maintained a strong connection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities since our foundations more than 90 years ago. Our Reconciliation Action Plan commitments are a core part of both the way we operate and how we deliver our clients’ projects. Our aim is for reconciliation to be fully embedded into our business to foster a culturally safe environment for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. www.ghd.com/RAP.
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About GHD
GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 12,000+ professionals is connected across 160 offices located on five continents.