The awards are held as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations to recognise inspirational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who make contributions in areas such as music, art, culture, community, sport and employment. The awards were presented on Thursday Island last Friday night.
Uel, 26, started work as an Indigenous Boating Safety Officer (Trainee) with AMSA in July last year through its National Indigenous Employment Strategy, which focuses on improving indigenous employment, recruitment and retention.
Since then, Uel has played an important role in delivering the Torres Strait Marine Safety Program (TSMSP). Earlier this month, Uel commenced in the role of Indigenous Maritime Safety Officer for the Torres Strait following completion of his traineeship.
The TSMSP runs a number of safety courses and information sessions in an effort to reduce the number of incidents of lost seafarers in the Torres Strait region, increase the chances of survival of lost seafarers and increase community and industry commitment to safety.
Uel has approached his duties with enthusiasm and demonstrated a great willingness to learn with the completion of a number to training courses during the past 12 months. In addition to his day to day duties, he completed his Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training, Workplace Health and Safety and Government, as well as the Traditional Inhabitant Coxswain Certificate and Marine Operators Certificate and helicopter underwater escape training. He is also part way through his Certificate II Coxswain course.
Uel has played a significant role in the delivery of various training packages under the TSMSP. He has proven himself capable of independently delivering sessions to students and has done so to a wide range of audiences including school students, indigenous and non-indigenous adults groups and at the Australian Defence Force’s Defence Indigenous Development Program.
This award provided AMSA with the opportunity to highlight the hard work and dedication of Uel.
Uel said he was proud to receive the award and play an important role in his local community through his role with AMSA.
“It’s been a rewarding journey working to implement the Torres Strait Marine Safety Program and increasing safety within the community, as well as meeting new people and building new friendships and work relationships. I’m very proud to be a part of the AMSA team,” he said.
Uel Bani, AMSA’s Indigenous Boating Safety Officer and recipient of the Torres Strait Regional NAIDOC Trainee of the Year Award
