South Australia’s City of Playford continues to provide ‘pathways’ for Indigenous youth through its Marni Waendi Indigenous Transition Pathways Centre. The centre aims to provide young people with learning programs that will promote social inclusion and cultural participation, while improving employment prospects.
An important focus of the centre is to build partnerships to strengthen Playford and northern Adelaide’s economic growth by ensuring all young people can participate in the workforce.
The promotion of Aboriginal cultural identity among local youth is also central to the centre’s philosophy.
Over 170 young people in the region have used Marni Waendi’s learning pathways program, with participants being seen as potential Indigenous leaders of the future.
At last year’s National Awards for Local Government, the City of Playford won the National Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2006 for its Marni Waendi centre.
The centre has formed partnerships with a number of groups to provide various learning and employment opportunities to its participants. These include TAFESA, the Indigenous Sports Academy and ColesMyer. Through these partnerships, various activities designed to provide meaningful learning experiences are available.
Courses include hospitality, driver education, financial management, information technology and hair and beauty.
School Based New Apprenticeships and VET courses are also administered through local schools, such as Kaurna Plains, with the help of the centre.
