Our partnership with the Clontarf Foundation supports 50 young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to attend Clontarf Academies each year. The Foundation provides a mentor program to assist these young men to finish school and find employment. Reece is creating pathways for more Clontarf graduates to continue their careers with us.

Our branch network’s involvement with Clontarf is run at a community level, with branches supporting and connecting with Clontarf students from local Clontarf academies throughout Australia. Our work together over the years has seen many Clontarf students take up work experience at Reece or join our school-based traineeship program.  

We recently caught up with Dubbo Branch Manager Michael Pears who has been connecting with his local Clontarf Academy since 2016.  

“It all started when I connected with the local Academy in Central West. We had two vacant school-based trainee roles through our ASbA program we were hoping to fill and as luck would have it, there were students from the Clontarf Academy who were interested in taking part.  

Since then, our connection with the local Academy has grown. We engage with the Academy by participating in local sporting events, employment forums and having students come for tours of our branch to learn more about what we do and what it’s like to work at Reece.  

Our team really enjoys having the students bring their energy and ideas to our local branch. For us, working with Clontarf has been a fulfilling opportunity to support the next generation to grow and find their way and improve our own mentorship skills.   

We’ve been fortunate to have one of our first Clontarf students stay with us for the past four years as a permanent team member. Zac has been a great asset to the team and is now, in turn, playing an important mentor role to the new Clontarf students coming through.  

For me, personally, connecting with the young men at Clontarf over the years has been very rewarding. Not only have I had the opportunity to mentor, but I’ve also been able to learn from an amazing group of young men which in turn has helped me to grow.  

I’d encourage everyone to get involved with their local Academy. Whether it’s offering employment or helping students find a career elsewhere, you have an opportunity to share your knowledge and life experiences to make an impact on the next generation”.  

On reflecting on his experiences with Clontarf and working at Reece, Zac said, “The Clontarf foundation and Reece’s ASbA program really encouraged me and supported me throughout school and my time growing up. They helped me achieve a level of maturity that would further help me when entering the workforce. I strongly encourage the next generation of students to stay connected with Clontarf as well as take the opportunities when they are presented to you.”