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A small island off the North Queensland coast will soon host Telstra's newest Australian call centre.
Key points:
- Twenty locals jobs will be created in the remote Indigenous community when the centre opens in October
- Around half of the island does not have mobile or internet coverage
- The island's mayor hopes the collaboration with Telstra will progress plans to install more telecommunications towers
Located 65 kilometres north of Townsville, the Indigenous community of Palm Island is home to just over 2,000 residents.
But in four months' time, a team of 20 local operators is expected its receive the first service calls from customers across the country.
"That's great news for my community," Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Mislam Sam said.
"There's always been a high level of unemployment on the island.
"This is only going to improve that situation and going to give us that recognition in regard to being a part of the corporate world."
Telstra executives visited the island on Friday to officially launch the project and inspect a newly-constructed retail precinct in the island's town centre where the call centre will be located.
Contact centres executive Clair Johnston said the new centre was part the company's initiative to improve outreach to remote Indigenous communities.
"We've got a long history of Telstra working with the community on Palm Island … so it just made sense to us in terms of proximity," Ms Johnston said.
"There's a real mix of technology and customer service roles that we're going to explore for career pathing, so it'll move just beyond the initial call centre work."
Internet, mobile connectivity issues
Applicants will begin a 12-week training course next month before the centre begins operating in October.
But Mr Sam said the community continued to be plagued by "black spots" in internet connectivity, with around half the island classed as having no mobile phone or internet coverage.
Mr Sam said it was hoped the collaboration with Telstra, which is the island's main service provider, would progress plans to install more telecommunications towers to widen coverage.
"It's just a matter of the federal government and the state supporting us in our journey towards better services on our own," he said.
Work was completed last year to bolster internet connectivity near the town centre to the west of the island.
Mark Frost, head of operations at ONQ Communications, the telecommunications firm that lead the upgrades, said internet speeds remained "woeful" in some parts.
"It's definitely a point of frustration for residents and business and other community organisations," he said.
"While we were able to fix that for some from a commercial perspective, we were unable to make it stack for others."
Keen interest in local jobs
With around 66 per cent of the island's population unemployed according to the 2021 census, Regional Development Australia chief executive Wade Chiesa said the call centre would bring economic and social benefits.
"It's also about encouraging our kids that they can live, learn and earn in the region," he said.
Mr Sam said there had already been keen interest in the jobs, with the capacity for an additional 10 once the centre opened.
"I think once people see the value of jobs in the community, they should welcome it with open arms."