ABB partners with AIME to support and encourage Indigenous success

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General Manager for ABB in Australia, Axel Kuhr (standing third from the left) with AIME representatives and Koomurri artists during NAIDOC celebrations hosted at its Moorebank premises in 2014.

Leading power and automation technology group ABB has signed a new partnership with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) to support the educational aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

General Manager for ABB in Australia, Axel Kuhr (standing third from the left) with AIME representatives and Koomurri artists during NAIDOC celebrations hosted at its Moorebank premises in 2014.
General Manager for ABB in Australia, Axel Kuhr (standing third from the left) with AIME representatives and Koomurri artists during NAIDOC celebrations hosted at its Moorebank premises in 2014.

The partnership with AIME – a proven mentoring and educational program that encourages Indigenous high school students to transition into university, training or employment at the same rate as all Australian students – represents a further commitment from ABB in Australia to provide the country’s indigenous population with meaningful opportunities to close the gap between themselves and the non-Indigenous communities.

“AIME and ABB Australia both share a vision of building a better world for all our kids, and that is why we see this partnership as the perfect fit,” said ABB Managing Director, Axel Kuhr.

“AIME has proven to dramatically increase the chances of indigenous students completing high school and going on to further education, training or employment.”

Adertisement

AIME was established in 2005, with 25 Indigenous mentees and 25 university student mentors. It has since grown considerably both in stature and influence, with a goal to reach 4,500 mentees and 1,600 mentors in 2015.

The program, which is active in 340 high schools and 33 university campuses across the mainland states and the ACT, has already delivered outstanding results among Indigenous students enrolled in the program.

This is best illustrated through the numbers achieved in 2013, when the Year 9 – 12 completion rate for AIME students was 76% – exceeding the national Indigenous average of 41% and approaching the national non-Indigenous average of 81%.

“We are more committed than ever to building an Australian narrative that has Indigenous success deeply interwoven throughout,” said AIME CEO and Founder Jack Manning Bancroft.

“It’s amazing to walk with ABB on the road to reach 10,000 Indigenous kids across Australia each year by 2018, and to see these kids transition through school and into universities, employment or further education at the same rate as non-Indigenous kids.”

The partnership agreement will also see ABB provide AIME with engineering specialists to educate and encourage students to take up careers in the fields of engineering and technology and offer work experience or apprenticeship opportunities. In addition, ABB will participate in initiatives to celebrate Indigenous success, such as National Hoodie Day.