From apprentice to CEO: Johnny Gorton’s path to leadership
As Skillinvest celebrates 40 years of building futures, we are reflecting on the opportunities, partnerships and stories that have shaped our organisation and the communities we work with.
For proud Wotjobaluk man John (Johnny) Gorton, one of those opportunities came in 1998, when at just 16 years old he became one of eight Aboriginal people to begin a Certificate III in Horticulture apprenticeship through Grampians Group Training Company, now Skillinvest.
At the time, Johnny saw it simply as an opportunity to work. He could never have imagined it would be the beginning of a pathway that would eventually take him into community leadership.
Now, after 23 years with Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative and a career built on continued learning, Johnny is preparing to take his next significant step as CEO at Goolum Goolum.
“I never thought that a kid doing a Cert III in horticulture would eventually lead an organisation,” Johnny reflected.
An opportunity that opened doors
Johnny Gorton spent much of his apprenticeship working at Karkana, a former Horsham facility that operated as a day centre, training facility and supported employment program for people with disabilities, including work processing fresh vegetables and fruit.
The experience became an important part of Johnny’s early working life and gave him a greater understanding of the experiences of people with disabilities.
“I really genuinely enjoyed working at Karkana,” Johnny said, reflecting on an experience that continued beyond his apprenticeship when he stayed on after completing his training.
He also worked on larger landscaping projects, including at Federation University and in Roberts Avenue in Horsham. As a teenager, there was a sense of pride in being able to look at those public spaces and see what he and the other apprentices had helped create.
But perhaps most importantly, the apprenticeship gave Johnny a start. He saw work as an opportunity to change his own circumstances.
“The apprenticeship was the start of me getting out of poverty,” Johnny said.
He places little importance on the awards he received during his apprenticeship. For him, the opportunity itself mattered more.
“I was just glad to have an opportunity,” he said.
Of the eight people who began the program, five completed their apprenticeships. Johnny says those five have gone on to do well in their respective careers.
One qualification opened another door
For Johnny, his horticulture qualification soon proved to be much more than a certificate.
“That opportunity to do the Cert III was a catalyst for me actually coming to Goolum, because I used my certificate to get a maintenance role here,” he said.
After around 10 years in maintenance, he moved into management in 2013. In 2022, he was offered the General Manager role as part of a transition plan that would eventually see him step into the CEO position.
Johnny continued undertaking training throughout his working life, completing qualifications across areas including leatherwork, personal care, business governance, management, community development and social and community services.
“One thing I learned pretty early on, even though I left school early, is you never leave school, because you’ve got to keep doing training to upskill as you go along,” he said.
Creating opportunities for the next generation
Johnny remains a strong advocate for creating education, employment and training pathways for Aboriginal young people, particularly for those who may not see traditional schooling as the right fit for them.
He believes apprenticeships, traineeships and school-based pathways can provide young people with different ways to learn while gaining practical experience and opening doors to future opportunities.
His advice to young people reflects his own experience.
“If an opportunity arises for a young kid to do an apprenticeship or a traineeship, especially if it’s been offered to you, don’t be afraid to take it on. Do it,” Johnny said.
“You never know where it’s going to lead you later. It could be the start of something. Just have a go.”
A relationship that continues today
Johnny’s connection with Skillinvest did not end when his apprenticeship finished.
Across the years, Skillinvest and Goolum Goolum have continued to work together on employment, training and career initiatives, while Johnny has also played an important role in Skillinvest’s reconciliation journey.
He traces the organisation’s early commitment to creating opportunities for Aboriginal people back to former Skillinvest CEO John Ackland, whom Johnny remembers as a genuine advocate for the local Aboriginal community.
Johnny recalls a number of Aboriginal community members undertaking training through Grampians Group Training Company during the 1990s and believes the opportunities created during that period have had a lasting impact with many going on to build strong careers.
Johnny also credits former Skillinvest employee Shane Cross with building strong connections with Goolum Goolum and the local Aboriginal community, and continually looking for opportunities around employment and training.
One example was the development of a careers pathway expo. Johnny said Skillinvest played a major role in helping Goolum Goolum establish the initiative, with Shane encouraging the idea in its early stages. Goolum Goolum has since taken ownership of the expo, which is now held annually with schools across the Wimmera.
Johnny also highlighted Skillinvest’s Victoria Police program as another initiative that created traineeship opportunities for Aboriginal young people. He saw particular value in the program as a way of creating positive experiences and connections with police, while also providing education and employment pathways.
The longstanding relationship has also extended to Skillinvest’s reconciliation journey.
Johnny was closely involved in Skillinvest’s first Reconciliation Action Plan and remembers the organisation as the first in the Wimmera to undertake a RAP. He believes Skillinvest taking that step helped demonstrate to other local organisations that it could be done, with others subsequently developing plans of their own.
For Johnny, reconciliation requires more than having a plan in place. It requires genuine commitment, local relationships and people within organisations who will continue to champion the work. Johnny has been a constant throughout Skillinvest’s RAP journey, contributing his knowledge and perspective for around a decade.
Johnny also acknowledged and thanked CEO Darren Webster and the Skillinvest team for continuing the organisation’s commitment to working with the local Aboriginal community and reconciliation.
As Johnny prepares to take on the leadership of Goolum Goolum, his reflections return not to his achievements or the awards along the way, but to the opportunity he was given at the beginning.
“I’d just like to thank Skillinvest for giving us an opportunity back then,” he said “And congratulate them on their 40th anniversary.”