Serco’s partnership with Wirrigan Business Services recently grew to support the Real Futures life changing program - the Women's Business Second Chance (WBSC) Hub. This program aims to ensure that First Nations women who are at risk of being left behind have access to participate in and achieve quality learning, entrepreneurship and employment outcomes through educational and vocational training.
Since January 2021, the Real Futures WBSC Hub has assisted 555 women across 73 education and business courses. From the program, 216 women have gained employment and 23 women have started their own businesses. 66 per cent of the participants in the Real Futures WBSC Hub were under 34 and a total of 289 women across all ages completed life skills courses to support building confidence to reengage with education and employment.
Wirrigan Business Services General Manger Colin Kerr shared that profit from the services Wirrigan provide to businesses is generated to help First Nations women overcome economic and social challenges.
“We know that many First Nations women have been marginalised from economic and social inclusion through circumstance and stereotype.”
"The WBSC hub offers women, their families and local communities, access to customised educational, employment and support services which are tailored to their needs as learners and future learners.”
“Wirrigan Business Services is a 100 per cent Aboriginal-Owned business that was established to provide services to public and private sector originations such as Serco.”
"Through this partnership and Serco's procurement, we are not only supporting the Real Futures WBSC Hub, but also plans for expansion into other states and regions.”
Serco has partnered with Wirrigan Business Services since 2020 for the supply of scrubs and polo shirts to our Australian Defence Health Services contract. In 2022, Serco broadened the scope of their work to include waste services.
The waste services contract will see Serco spend almost one million dollars annually with Wirrigan Business Services, and will have a strong environmental impact through improvements to how waste streams, recycling and reporting is managed.
As part of Serco’s Social Procurement initiative, Wirrigan Business Services has also been appointed as the service provider for office supplies across the business.
