Community volunteer Bruce chose a Northern Beaches and Mosman College course to further his project management skills.
As a long-time volunteer with an emergency services organisation, Bruce felt that at the age of 81, he needed to diversify his skills. While his role had always been a physical one, he says he could keep volunteering and offer more in the area of management and coordination. Which is why he chose to do a Diploma of Project Management with the Northern Beaches and Mosman College (NBMC).
“I thought it could be a transition course from frontline emergency service work to possible incident management and that end of the spectrum,” Bruce says.
The course focused on building skills for those looking to step up as a project manager or team leader, and covered budgeting, skills to manage stakeholder relationships and deadlines.
Bruce, who describes himself as a ‘lifelong learner’ treated the course as a ‘full-time job’ and devoted many hours to it. “I’d done something similar before,” he says, adding his previous project management course was completed before the material became computer-based.
He even completed an E-Business Certificate III course at TAFE a year prior to taking on the diploma at NBMC to ensure he was up-to-date with how to use spreadsheets and well prepared to start. “I made sure I had the right skills to be able to do it on the computer. So I prepared for it, I felt confident that I could do it,” he adds.
Bruce started the course, which was delivered online, and originally struggled with the program used by the college (a system which has since been replaced), which set him behind by a number of weeks. After seeking help from staff at the college, he persevered and got through it. “I put my head down five, six days a week and caught up,” he adds.
The course is currently heavily subsidised by the NSW Government and runs at a low cost to students, which is great news for retirees like Bruce, who can channel those savings towards their children and grandchildren.
He enjoyed meeting the other students online in a virtual classroom during their teaching sessions, and his trainer, Svet, who he says was ‘very good.’ The group, who had varied backgrounds including conference, international and staff management, even organised their own catch-up to meet in person.
“I felt as if I did a good job,” Bruce says of completing the diploma. “No one else thought I would get through it. But I took it on as a challenge and it worked.”
“The knowledge I gained, it sharpened up my processes and application of computer programs and research,” he says, adding that a couple of learnings stood out for him. “Spreadsheets and particularly the subject on timing was really helpful.“
“(By the end) I could derive visually, and also in words, how to get something done with a variety of people involved.”
While the Project Management Diploma is challenging, Bruce’s advice to others thinking of taking the course is to ‘just go ahead.’
“I’d say to them, ‘Are you prepared for some intense spreadsheets? Are you going to cope with working out times and allocation of staff and critical tasks?’” he advises. “This is a diploma course… it’s a serious course.”
Bruce has taken away his learnings from the NBMC course and is pleased to have ‘sharpened up the sword’ in terms of upskilling, which he looks forward to applying in his volunteer role – another step in his lifelong learning journey.
NBMC is a not-for-profit organisation located in Brookvale which provides a number of accredited training courses for areas like business, childcare, counselling, aged care and more.
