King Bins staff, Peter Musulin, Merv Eades (Ngalla Maya) and Aaron Baker.
Camera IconKing Bins staff, Peter Musulin, Merv Eades (Ngalla Maya) and Aaron Baker. Credit: Supplied/Martin Kennealey d474986

Landsdale business teams up to help indigenous former prisons get work

Laura PondWanneroo Times

A LANDSDALE business has teamed up with an organisation helping indigenous former prisoners gain employment.

King Bins owner Aaron Baker is also business development manager at Ngalla Maya, which provides mentoring and support to people after prison to enable training and education opportunities that lead to jobs.

Three of the 11 employees at his recently opened materials recovery facility are indigenous and while only Peter Musulin is involved with Ngalla Maya, all three staff members will be able to access its support services.

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Mr Musulin discovered Ngalla Maya as part of an employment expo at the prison and said it provided a lot of hope to people.

“I went into the Ngalla Maya office on my second day out of prison to pick up my work boots and to sort out all the documentation for my new job,” he said.

“I have not been out of prison for very long, and was very nervous in the transition from prison to the community.”

He was charged with drug related offences and a high speed chase, and said having a lifetime drivers’ licence disqualification had been a difficult obstacle but received support from his employer.

He said Ngalla Maya provided a culturally appropriate setting to help him overcome barriers he faced and had a mentor he could contact any time.

“They help support me and my family in ways I didn’t think anyone cared about,” he said.

“Indigenous people are often left without a voice in our society, or they can simply ‘slip through the cracks’ and begin offending.

“A culturally appropriate service like this is so effective in its goal to get indigenous people into sustainable employment.”

Mr Baker said the organisation ran a cultural awareness program that was beneficial to businesses and it acted as a link between employees and employers.

“Employees can feel like part of the team and have a voice,” he said.

“(Without it) there’s a possibly they can get lost in the bureaucracy of it all.”

The organisation enabled his business to have access to suitable candidates for employment.

King Bins is also committed to providing employment to people with disabilities and supports the First Nations Homelessness Project and Advocacy Service.

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