Over three years ago, Workwear Group (WWG) partnered with CareerTrackers, who are a national non-profit organisation whose goal is to create pathways and support systems for young First Nations adults.

Workwear Group & CareerTrackers Partnership Provides First Nations Interns with Industry Experience

The internship program supports First Nations students from Year 12 into university, helping them to navigate their studies while linking them to paid internships that relate to their interests and career aspirations. 

Last summer, we welcomed Satine and Kaylah as summer interns. 

Satine joined our Wholesale Marketing Team, managing tasks such as copywriting and creating social media posts to support campaigns. “This internship has been helpful with figuring out what I want to pursue,” she told us. “I’ve realised I want to work in marketing or advertising in the fashion space.” 

Satine started 2024 by embarking on a Communications & Media degree, but she also has a background in fashion and design, no doubt providing some extra knowledge for her WWG internship. Initially, she was offered a Design internship with us but expressed interest in a Marketing role, which we were able to accommodate and were pleased to see she slotted in well.  

With a fast-paced environment and a team brimming with ideas and experience, Satine was able to dive headfirst into her responsibilities, while also having a bit of fun on the side. “Right now, I’m soaking everything up and enjoying the social culture and flexibility at Workwear Group.” 

At the same time, Kaylah joined WWG as an intern in the People team while she completes her final year in a Bachelor of Psychological Sciences. She plans to go on and do Honours and a master's or PhD. “Neuroscience is my jam,” Kaylah told us. “I love the mental health side, but I really love to see what happens when you do things to the brain.” 

“Being exposed to a lot of new people and processes has been helpful,” she said about her internship. “I’m nowconfident in how things at Workwear Group tick, as well as all the different areas of business. I’m also a lot more open to the idea of working in a collaborative organisation, compared to working in research or psychology, which is often self-lead.” 

Kaylah describes the internship process with CareerTrackers to be straightforward, saying, “You just tell the team what you’re interested in and provide some university documentation so they can understand if you have the capacity for an internship.” 

“The CareerTrackers team consider your degree and how you align with organisations,” she explained. We do the same at WWG, identifying areas where we have the capacity to host an intern that can be provided with support. We then match the student accordingly and they’re exposed to multiple opportunities while developing transferable skills that enable them to progress through university and beyond. 

Since Kaylah has started her final year of university, she’s been able to continue doing remote work on a casual basis with WWG. We’re accommodating her university workload and schedule, but already she’s been a major help in several projects, including the expansion of our mentorship programs this year. 

March 8th marked International Women’s Day and its powerful theme for the year, Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress. This theme aligns with Workwear Group’s (WWG) commitment to invest in our people, with particular importance on empowering and advancing the women in our organisation.

Celebrating Women in the Workforce: Robyn Longford

Workwear Group celebrates its collaboration with Indigenous Australian artists and the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Celebrating Indigenous Artistry

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In early 2023, Workwear Group reset its Senior Leadership Team (SLT) structure to align our growth plans and the significance of our technology and digital roadmap. Gender balance was a driver in both the organisation design and in the sourcing of potential candidates for open vacancies. Of 3 vacancies, 2 were filled by female talent, including 1 promotion from within WWG and an internal transfer from another Wesfarmers division: Robyn Longford who joined us from Officeworks and is now WWG’s Chief Financial Officer. 

Almost a year into her role, Robyn shares how she’s tackling the challenges and opportunities at WWG, plus lessons she’s learned from her career to date. 

I am the Chief Financial Officer (CFO); a key part of my role is to partner with the business and support WWG’s strategic growth agenda. 

Are there any parts of your role that you are particularly passionate about?  

I am passionate about growing our business profitably so we can re-invest into areas that make a difference such as People, Sustainability, and Innovation. I also like to have fun along the way. 

What were your career aspirations growing up?  

Growing up I admired Jana Wendt from 60 Minutes and aspired to be a journalist, which was my first field of study at university before I switched to accounting. During my childhood, my parents owned and operated a business, which meant discussing business (like the pros and cons of compulsory superannuation) were regular dinner table conversations. Switching to business seemed to make sense for me.  

I took a role as a Tax Clerk working for a Taxation and Insolvency practice in Adelaide. It was full of young graduates and so the social atmosphere was great – mostly I remember having a good time at the pub! I knew early on though that Tax & Insolvency was not the industry for me.  

Can you tell us about the roles that you’ve undertaken that you think have led to your position here at WWG?  

My journey has not been linear, but each role has been intentional, and I’ve learned from each one. Working in Insolvency showed me the impact of insolvent businesses on people’s lives; Private Equity gave me a front row seat to the investor mindset; and my career break as a barista in a cafe enabled me to grow my people and customer service skills. 

Operational roles at JB Hi-Fi showed me the value in agile decision-making when you haven’t crossed all the T’s, and that the main driver of performance is culture and aligned values.  My roles at Officeworks for the last eight years indoctrinated me to the Wesfarmers way (renowned for excellent business and investment principles) and exposed me to acquisitions, problem solving, and leading both large and small teams through change. Being part of Wesfarmers has been a highlight thus far and has certainly helped lead me here – one of the many benefits of being part of the Wesfarmers Group. 

If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?  

If you must choose between your brain or your gut, follow your gut. 

Be okay with your mistakes. Your biggest learnings may lead to surprising outcomes that exceed your expectations.

Workwear Group are thrilled to announce that we were recognised by Westpac for our commitment to sustainability and our dedication to customer relationships. The hard work and enthusiasm of our team has been acknowledged by Westpac at their Awards, held in November 2023, where we proudly took home the Sustainable Supplier Award.

Workwear Group Uniforms Wins Sustainable Supplier of the year at Westpac Awards

We spoke to in-house designer, Ann Morgan, who gave us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the NNT brand as a premium supplier to the health and wellbeing industry.

Meet Ann, in-house designer for Workwear Group & NNT Uniforms

On set in Richmond, Victoria for the Spring/Summer 2020/21 NNT campaign shoot, we spoke to designer Ann Morgan about her contribution to the updated range and her design process for the uniform brand.

NNT: What is the process behind designing a new collection?

Ann: When designing a new collection we take time to listen to our clients and really understand the nature of their work, their brand and what the team members do in their day to day activities. For example the placement of a pocket can really enhance someone’s day, knowing they have somewhere to safely put a credit card or piece of jewellery. We look at trends for colour and silhouette and apply them to our designs, taking into account that our pieces need to have longevity and suit a lot of different people. The sourcing team has a global network of suppliers and we are always looking at technical innovations for fabrics which translate to extra comfort of functionality for the end wearer. All our new fabrics and garments are trialled by actual wearers in their work environment so we can make improvements or act on suggestions before we take something to market.

NNT: How do you cater for different body size and shapes?

Ann: NNT offers a very wide size range from a size 4 to 30 in womenswear on some items; and a 36 to 50 shirt size for men. On our suiting items we include features such as longer hems and extra wide back seam allowance in trousers for easy alterations; plus we have some clever waistband construction methods which can stretch half a size bigger, to accommodate for different body shapes.

NNT: How do you want the customer to feel when wearing an NNT Uniform?

Ann: We would like our customer to feel professional and confident wearing their uniform, so they can move comfortably and get their job done with style.

NNT: What steps is NNT taking towards sustainability?

Ann: In 2021, all NNT woven labels will be made from recycled polyester. Our swing tags will be made from recycled paper using soy based inks; plus we’re moving towards less components in our packaging (like the number of plastic clips in our folded shirts, for example). All of these small measures make a huge difference to reducing waste. We're committed to ethical sourcing and continue to work with excellent factories who are committed to using energy saving and resource efficient production methods.

NNT: How do you take into consideration the physical demands of health care workers when designing their uniforms?

Ann: We hear from our clients it’s normal to take more than 10 thousand steps in a work day, plus it can be a very messy job. With this in mind, we design our scrubs to be easy to move in but also easy to take on and off for quick changes. We know that health workers need to be mindful of infection control so in general we keep our shirts and tops short sleeve and ensure they have an “action back” which allows for extra movement across the shoulders when stretching or reaching forwards. We also hear that health workers need multiple pockets because they need to carry lots of items with them, so there are various tops, pants and skirts with a pocket option to suit most people. The multi pocket cargo pant is a best seller for this reason, plus it features a roll up leg in different lengths to allow workers to shower patients, for example.

NNT: What is your favourite item in the range for health?

Ann: The athleisure-inspired women’s scrub pant is a favourite because the fabric feels soft and premium next to the skin, and the yoga style waistband is so stretchy and comfortable it’s easy to wear all day.


Workwear Group continues to support First Nations People to create a brighter future through CareerTrackers.

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