35. Supporting Future First Nation Cyber Leaders with Pip Jenkinson

Phillip (Pip) Jenkinson is an ex-serving member of the Australian Defence Force and has been involved in the ICT community in Australia for about 12 years. Pip works for one of Australia's leading Indigenous ICT security providers, Baidam Solutions, committed to giving back to the local economy as a way to help us bridge the gap of Indigenous representation in the IT security sector. The Baidam Initiative provides both specialist IT security certification funding and meaningful employment opportunities for First Nations communities. Pip sits on a number of not-for-profit advisory boards and regularly supports the charity Solider On, which helps contemporary veterans and their families build successful futures. A husband, father, brother, son and proud supporter of the cause, Pip is passionate about creating real change. In this episode, Pip shares with us the role that community involvement plays in Baidam Solutions' growth, the barriers he has seen to organisations being more diverse and inclusive, and the current situation around STEM leaders on NFP Boards. As a passionate advocate for change, Pip also shares details on the graduate program Baidam has developed, and a brief overview of some exciting news to be launched during NAIDOC week. Links: Baidam Solutions NAIDOC Week Time Stamps: 00:39 - Acknowledgement of country 00:51 - Pip's introduction and background 02:13 - Sorry Day 02:58 - Pivotal moments in Pip's career 04:50 - The driving force behind the creation of Baidam Solutions 07:15 - The growth of Baidam and community involvement 08:45 - Barriers to more diverse and inclusive organisations 10:04 - "CHOICE is the acronym that we use in Baidam to articulate our value proposition. Courage, honesty, originality, innovation, to challenge the status quo, and to educate or to be educated...to a culturally significant story." Pip Jenkinson 12:28 - The future for first nations in ICT 15:56 - Planning growth in Baidam's grad program 16:01 - "One of the reasons why Baidam was created in its infancy was that I was unable to rattle off indigenous participants in the IT security space as quickly as I could indigenous sports stars, or indigenous politicians, or activists, or musicians." Pip Jenkinson 23:38 - ICT and Cyber on Boards in not-for-profits 26:00 - What does real change look like to Pip