College Builds Confidence

Returning to the workforce after taking time off with her two young children was something of a daunting prospect for Linda Moss from Avalon, but she says an HR qualification from Northern Beaches and Mosman College boosted her confidence and taught her new skills for her next career move.

Linda enrolled in the BSB41015 Certificate IV in Human Resources, studying at the Brookvale campus. “I’d worked as an area manager in fashion for many years and there is an HR element to that, so I was interested in finding out more about Human Resources,” she explained.

Linda had spent the last few years concentrating on bringing up her family and wanted to upskill and refresh before looking for a job that would offer opportunities for progression. She said her research found certain tertiary courses to be too much of a commitment while she juggled family needs.

“The schedule at the college was really flexible as it offered the option of day or night and virtual classes and it worked really well for me. It was a way for me to ease myself back into the workforce. I hadn’t studied since high school, but I found the college was a supportive environment and the trainers were great,” she added.

Linda believes the knowledge and skills she learned on the course were invaluable in terms of understanding today’s work environment and expectations. She believes she can apply much of what she took from the course into a variety of roles going forward.

“The course brought back some memories for me of being an area manager and having to manage people and I realised that was not my favourite part of the job. Having said that, in my current job assisting the senior management team at a large hospitality group, I have been involved in HR and have been able to use what I learned,” Linda reflected.

Her current role is varied, and Linda has been involved in many aspects of the business from helping on reception, to working in accommodation and now assisting senior management. “The course helped me to really understand the importance of being a good team member. I have now been a bit of an ear to listen to younger staff and help troubleshoot issues. It gave me more confidence about my place in the workforce as well as the skills and knowledge to work well in a team. So, while I am not pursuing a specific HR role, I am using everything I learned and I now know how to write a job description and how to recruit,” she enthused.

Linda said her new part-time role based in Whale Beach provides her the life, work balance she was seeking and she feels able to look towards developing the role further in the future and potentially incorporating more of her new HR skills into her work.