CASE STUDY

Charles Murgha is 36 and had never had a job until he got a carpentry apprenticeship a few years ago.

Soon he'll be a qualified tradesman, and will have helped build 29 homes in his Indigenous community of Yarrabah, not far from Cairns.

The town has a 45 per cent unemployment rate. Charles says boys stop by to watch him work, and ask him how they can also get a job building houses when they leave school.

Asked if that makes him proud, Charles eventually says, quietly: "Gives me goosebumps."

Charles was assisted in his apprenticeship not by government agencies but by Cairns-based construction and property development company Mihaven.

Mihaven, which doubles as a registered training provider, is one of a growing number of businesses here in Australia, but also globally seeking to show ethically-minded consumers that they're driven by more than profits.

Founded five years ago and run by former town planner Sarah Mort and her builder husband James, the company focuses on training and employment for Indigenous and other disadvantaged job-seekers. Sarah and James Mort founded their property development company with social impact in mind.(ABC RN: Ann Arnold)

Twenty-five per cent of Mihaven's workforce is Indigenous, and Ms Mort says training staff go the extra mile to help trainees lock in work experience and job placements.

"We have persisted so hard. Door-knocked every single big box retailer in this town," she says.

"We used every single contact we have, every relationship we can lean on, to help people get jobs."

QUESTION

What criticisms of the company from your chosen case study could an advocate of the narrow view make and why? ( 350 words)