Founder and chairman of Fortescue Andrew Forrest says plans to replicate the company's successful Vocational Training and Employment Centre program within Fortescue Future Industries will happen "as soon as possible".
VTEC marked 15 years of operations and the recruitment of 1000 Aboriginal people in full-time jobs in a celebration in Marapikurrinya (Port Hedland) on October 28.
Given the triumph of the program after 15 years, Mr Forrest said he felt there was a necessity for VTEC in FFI.
"I very firmly feel that this is replicable and it should be done by business, I don't think it should be done by government," he said.
"(Business) has got to provide the training curriculum and government's got to give us a hand, because as soon as people come off welfare and start getting jobs, they're no longer receiving welfare.
"You don't have to have this protracted conveyer line of people who get disenfranchised from the system."
Mr Forrest said the idea for VTEC came to him 15 years ago out of feelings of frustration for First Nations people.
"It came out of a very deep frustration that Indigenous people were the recipient of all this government good will, but they were not getting employment," he said.
"Because the government couldn't connect the fact they needed guaranteed jobs and if you had trainers, providing the training who had no idea what the employers wanted, then they'd get paid for training but my mob wouldn't get any work.
"You say to any member of the mob if you do the training and you've got a guaranteed job, you're in, because we're all so sick of doing training with no job."
Indigenous Times. VTEC superintendent Allison (Kate) Gear said her 13-year journey with the program and company had changed her life.
"In 2009 I was a VTEC trainee myself, part of Summit 300," she said.
"After graduating I headed out to Cloudbreak as a dump truck operator heralding the beginning of my Fortescue journey, which has included being a VTEC coordinator, Indigenous development coordinator, training facility facilitator and back to VTEC coordinator.
"Tonight, I stand before you as a VTEC superintendent."
Mr Forrest said the company hoped to implement VTEC within FFI as soon as possible.
