More than 2,000 Indigenous employees have been hired and more than 700 Indigenous traineeships created through Business Council of Australia member company efforts in the past 12 months, efforts which are now impacting across diverse parts of the economy.

The results are included in the Business Council’s 2012 Indigenous Engagement Survey, launched today by President Tony Shepherd. The fourth annual survey conducted by the Business Council shows significant growth in the collective Indigenous workforce among members companies and the important influence staff and shareholder expectations have on Indigenous engagement activities.

The 2012 survey attracted a record 81 per cent response rate from member companies (up from 74 per cent last year), with 76 per cent of respondents reporting they had formal Indigenous engagement strategies in place.