To mark the end of Indigenous Business Month, global professional services company GHD has entered a five-year Strategic Relationship Agreement with the Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC).
GHD says the agreement strengthens the company's commitment to meaningfully include Indigenous owned businesses in their supply chain.
The Indigenous Defence & Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC), led by CEO Adam Goodes, is a single point deployment project and account manager, providing a diverse range of services to support large Defence and infrastructure projects via its consortium partners, all of whom are Indigenous owned businesses.
“Our partnership with iDiC will help strengthen GHD’s commitment to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity and support improved economic and social outcomes, as outlined in our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)," Michele Beattie, GHD’s Australian Finance Manager and Executive Sponsor for Reconciliation and Indigenous Services said. "I’m looking forward to seeing how iDiC can supplement the work our Indigenous Services team is doing to create a real, lasting impact on the Indigenous business sector.”
The iDiC team keep Indigenous communities and the development of Indigenous entrepreneurs at the forefront, providing long-term capability building and jobs to Indigenous Australians, including training and education to Indigenous youth via hands-on development programs. Beyond the 120+ businesses within the consortium, over 80 per cent of iDiC’s own workforce identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
“iDiC is proud and excited to partner with GHD across their Defence portfolio," Adam Goodes, iDiC’s CEO said. "Our partnership with GHD will not only help in attracting and sourcing Indigenous business and people to work in the Defence and infrastructure sector, but it will provide long term support and opportunities to the Australian business sector as we build defence ready Indigenous sovereign capability and capacity.”