About UsFollowing extensive community and government consultation the Review of Public Sector Attraction and Retention Strategies to Maximise the Employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples proposed that an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Sector Employment Development Unit be established. The aim of the unit is to assist in achieving the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Sector employment targets established by the Queensland Government. The Wal-Meta Unit commenced on 1 July 2001 within the former Department of Employment and Training and is now part of the Employment and Indigenous Initiatives Division within the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations. The name of the unit, Wal-Meta, is pronounced wa-met-a. Wal means ‘to learn’ in the Kooma Aboriginal language and Meta means ‘to grow’ in Meriam Torres Strait Islander language. The unit is dedicated to working with government agencies to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples achieve equity with non-Indigenous Australians in terms of employment and economic status. The unit also seeks to ensure that employment equity is complementary with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and cultural values.
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