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27-Aug-2026 | Employment Events

Building inclusive pathways to employment with Woolworths Group

Congratulations to Woolworths Group, named Champion Employer of the Year at the 2026 National Employment Services Association (NESA) Awards for Excellence.

SYC proudly nominated Woolworths for the award, recognising their commitment to inclusive employment and supporting people facing barriers to work.

SYC has worked with Woolworths retail stores for many years, supporting jobseekers into employment. Over time, this relationship has grown into a strong partnership, with SYC working alongside Woolworths to design and deliver recruitment initiatives that meet their workforce needs.

This partnership was recently implemented through a tailored recruitment initiative for Woolworths’ new Customer Fulfilment Centre in Keswick, South Australia.

SYC and Woolworths worked together to deliver a recruitment process that gave participants the opportunity to learn about the workplace and roles before starting employment. This included site-based pre-screening, training and functional assessments, as well as a tour of the Customer Fulfilment Centre.

The approach was designed to remove some of the barriers people may encounter in traditional recruitment. Rather than relying on previous experience or performance in an interview, the process focused on people’s skills, motivation and potential. Participants also received flexible training, mentoring and access to additional support throughout the process.

This partnership demonstrates what can happen when employers are willing to look at recruitment differently and work with employment providers to support people into employment.

Through our work together, we’ve seen Woolworths take a genuine and flexible approach to inclusive employment, helping to remove barriers to recruitment and supporting people to succeed in the workplace.

We are proud to celebrate Woolworths Group as the 2026 Champion Employer of the Year and thank the Woolworths team for their continued partnership with SYC and their commitment to creating more inclusive pathways into employment.

Pictured: Thalia Hearne, SYC Aboriginal Employment Mentor; Kristen Schulze-Clifford, Woolworths Group; Luke Oliver, Woolworths Manager Adelaide CFC; Tammy Kelly, Woolworths Enablement and Assurance Manager Adelaide CFC; and Jenny Hall, SYC CEO.