Learning occurs every day. It starts well before we enter the classroom, and continues long after we have left. The best kind of learning, though, happens when we can apply skills to professional situations.
Business students Keisha Brown and Dilan Weerasinghe Archilage know the benefits of taking classroom knowledge and exploring these insights in a workplace. Through respective practical placements, the pair have added to their skills, while gaining an introduction into industry.
How did they greet the workforce? Let’s look at their experiences as students and working professionals.
Identify why you want to do something
Everyone has different motivations, as they have different goals. Once you know why you’re doing something and what you want to get out of it, you’ll have greater enthusiasm for the study path ahead.
For Dilan, the chance to get work experience was significant. “Holmesglen offers you the professional experience, which is useful when you go into a real working environment. You get exposed to that world while studying, which is really important,” he says.
While Keisha saw her course as the opportunity to build a future for her family.
“I wanted to get a job to support my kids. In-between doing the course, I realised I wouldn’t mind being a manager and working my way up. It opened my mind.”
Take your opportunities
Through the help of their Holmesglen course, Dilan and Keisha completed practical placements.
Keisha worked at Ormond’s Lemon Blossom – a boutique babywear store. She was able to explore her aspiring business nous when working part-time on front and back-end admin roles. In a sign of her hard work, she received a job offer.
“We just clicked. I got a job out of it, and now I’m getting experience. I needed that foot in the door,” Keisha explains.
Equally, Dilan worked at Bentleigh’s Aika Wellness. “Once I went there I learned a lot of new things. I realised that I was going beyond my boundaries and that was a wonderful experience.”
The two students, along with their class, were also involved with organising a conference program, Empowering Your Brand. The event saw students interact with industry and gain new connections.
Think positive and always look ahead
Dilan looks at everything in a glass half-full way. “If you face challenges, the practical placement pushes you towards your boundaries and over them, which is really fantastic,” he says.
Keisha understands that finishing your course and gaining work experience is a way to build confidence.
“I was just happy that I could finish something – that was a big goal for me. Getting a diploma behind me has widened my options.”
Find out more about Holmesglen's Business courses.