Alexis Wheatley, Financial Advisor and Teacher, TAFE NSW:
Thanks for joining us today for launch your career finance.

My name is Alexis Wheatley, I'm a financial advisor and a teacher at TAFE NSW in the Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Joining us today are my colleagues from TAFE NSW, the NSW Department of Education and Finance industry representatives.

Launch Your Career is an industry and NSW government awareness programme to highlight careers in finance.

We'll now start with an acknowledgement of country in the spirit of reconciliation.

The NSW Department of Education and TAFE NSW acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout NSW and their connections to land, sea and community.

We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining us today.

Please make sure that you post any questions through the Q&A function in Zoom.

We'll be reviewing them as the session progresses and our panellists will answer the most popular ones.

The session is also being recorded and a link will be provided later in the week to kick us off.

Here's the official welcome from the NSW Minister for Education, the Honourable Sarah Mitchell.

The Honourable Sarah Mitchell, NSW Minister for Education and Early Learning:
Hi, I'm Sarah Mitchell, the NSW Minister for Education and Early learning.

I'm really pleased to welcome you to the Launch Your Career in Finance webinar hosted by the Department of Education and TAFE.

Did you know that there are over 500,000 people employed in the finance industry in Australia?

From banking to mortgage broking, accounting to financial planning, the finance industry has roles to suit everybody and can provide you with skills that you can utilise in your everyday life.

Over the next hour, you will get to hear directly from employers and industry leaders about their career journey and the range of job opportunities available to you.

You will also hear about how finance and technology come together in what is called Fintech.

Fintech makes it easier for businesses and consumers to engage with financial services.

Working in the finance industry will give you opportunities to use trailblazing technologies and learn innovative skill sets.

There is currently a shortage of financial services workers in Australia, with this gap only expected to grow.

Businesses and individuals across the country rely on a strong and skilled workforce.

There is no doubt that the finance industry will continue to be a core sector of our economy into the future.

I hope you are motivated by today's speakers and I really encourage you to explore the many opportunities to gain skills and experience in the finance industry.

There are many options for you to consider, including taking up a vocational education course in Year 11 and Year 12 in Financial Services or participating in TAFE NSW's virtual Accounting Launchpad course.

You could sign up as a school based trainee, seek out work experience opportunities or you could undertake one of the vocational or higher education courses offered at TAFE NSW after you leave school.

So I really hope you enjoy hearing from employers, from industry experts and from TAFE NSW and really utilise this forum to ask lots of questions.

Getting a glimpse into an industry is an exciting opportunity for all of you and I applaud you for taking the first step in your future careers.

I hope you all have a good webinar and maybe you'll leave today with a career path in mind.

Alexis Wheatley:
So what does a career in finance look like?

Over the last couple of weeks we went out to chat with some industry rising stars and we asked them that very question.

Let's have a look at what we found.

Pre-recorded video

Speaker 1:
To me, working in the finance industry means being able to help people who are in need and assist them to achieve their goals.

Speaker 2:
In year 10 I applied for a school based traineeship, so I applied for the position at the Commonwealth Bank with the AES Aboriginal Employment Strategy and I got the job.

So before I worked at CBAI, worked at a Thai restaurant where I learnt to interact with customers.

That's helped me transition into my role and now I'm a customer banking specialist.

Speaker 3:
I actually wanted to be a physiotherapist, realised physiotherapy wasn't for me.

You know, I had this moment of what do I do?

You know, I'm, I'm 20, I'm young, I, I need to think of what I want to do as a career and was good at maths, loved numbers.

So then I studied at TAFE for two years.

When I was at TAFE, I heard stories that it was good to get experience while studying.

So I put my resume out to about 1516 accountants, luckily Hancock and Associates, one of them.

And yeah, 16 years later I'm still there.

Speaker 4:
So I started in an unpaid role after the university.

That job lasted about 5 or 6 months.

You get 50% of everything you make.

And you know, coming out of university you didn't have a little bit of funds built up.

And then I moved from there into a trading platform.

So it helps people sort of buy and sell stocks.

And then from there you'll learn enough in that job where you feel like you're capable of managing it yourself.

And that's why I've moved the Australian Stock Report.

Speaker 5:
Now what excites me to go through numbers and analyse the data is I guess I like finding the errors in the data.

When I'm finding that, you know, everything matches and the final balance at the end, just everything just matches.

And it's definitely fulfilling.

Speaker 6:
Most exciting part of my job would be closing big deals and it's obviously quite a big sales process leading up to that point.

And it's financially and mentally quite rewarding as well when you when you've sort of done, done the hard work and it's obviously paid off.

Speaker 7:
In finance in general, there's just so many opportunities out there in different areas.

Financial planning is a very fulfilling job, especially when you see people who you know, come for advice and they're, you know, very stressed out about their situation.

And we, we put together a plan for them.

It's not always about the numbers, it's about connecting with the clients, about engaging with them and helping them achieve their goals.

Speaker 2:
After I finished my school based traineeship, I received a cert to business services.

I got a lot of support so I took what I learnt from my cert to and then put it into practise.

Speaker 3:
I studied an advanced diploma at TAFE to your course full time, found it very practical because you're in a classroom setting, 20 people to a teacher, you could ask questions, you could get assistance after class.

All the teachers were wonderful.

Some of the teachers were actually in their own public practise at the current time.

So they were also able to give us experiences.

So not just hey the textbook says this, they could apply the learnings.

Actually 2 real life experiences.

Speaker 7:
I studied bachelor of Commerce majoring in financial planning at Saint George's TAFE.

Through the years at TAFE I got to know the teachers pretty well and eventually they helped helped me get a job.

We had to do some industry experience as well.

The best advice I can give for a young student is to try a lot of things and push yourself and learn different areas of finance and seek out work experience in that industry.

Speaker 2:
At CBA I'm learning the skills to help people with financial hardship.

My biggest like thing I could make a difference is helping these people organise their banking.

In my role I am also able to help my community and help them move forward.

Speaker 8:
So fun day for me as an NDIS Finance Officer working in the community sector.

We do help the vulnerable and the disability in age, so being able to see their smile on their faces when they go out to community outings.

Although I'm not the front facing that, I'm able to secure income aside for them to go on these activities is a fun day for me.

Speaker 9:
Well, every day is like a fun day.

You may have a inspiration story to tell.

My team is very supportive.

If I have a question that I would help me out.

Speaker 3:
In our firm, we've got cadets, trainees, we've then got accountants, we've got managers and we've got partners and we also have an admin team that supports all of us.

Everyone is approachable.

We have a doors open policy, the partners doors, the managers doors, everyone is open.

So you just got to knock on the door, come in, have a have a talk.

How I learned the most was actually sitting down in front of someone and then explaining why things were done that way, why they're asking these questions.

If you don't know an answer or you don't understand something, ask because the only way you're going to learn is by asking these questions and through experience.

Speaker 4:
I would say focus on your strengths because at the end of the day, it could just be the grades that get you to a point.

They want somebody to come in and be capable of learning and being a sponge.

That's something that they weigh a lot more highly here if you're motivated.

Speaker 10:
So the main advice I would give to high school students is to do what they love.

If they love the finance, if they love fast pace and something challenging, finance industry is something for you.

If you're not too sure, seek career advice.

Take advantage of the support that you have around you.

Speaker 6:
If you feel like a social aspect is a massive part of your job and you've got thick skin, this would probably be a right Ave for you to take.

Speaker 3:
It's very flexible, so working hours, it doesn't have to be a nine to five.

You can also work from home.

These days with technology, pay is good.

There's many different paths that you can take.

You don't have to be stuck behind a desk doing the same thing over and over again.

Also in public practise you, you get a variety of work so every day is changing as you progress in, you know, your career.

In the first year you might only do tax returns and then you'll, you know, start off with small business, then it might be meeting business, a large business, super funds, auditing.

There's so many different pathways for starting a career in finance.

Speaker 2:
If I was speaking to a high school student in my community, I would encourage them to take every opportunity that they can get as this is a life changing opportunity.

Working in the financial institution and being only 20 is a big achievement and I hope I inspire others.

Alexis Wheatley:
Kai, Kyle, Joel, Selena and Lachlan have provided us with some very interesting insights into their experiences at work and their career paths.

They'll be available to answer your questions through the gym through the Zoom chat function now.

Finance is a global industry.

It encompasses every transaction in the economy.

It includes anything that you buy or sell from opening a bank account, borrowing money it might be issuing debt on behalf of government or even financing and ensuring A commodity purchase.

In Australia, finance is one of the biggest sectors by revenue and it employs 6% of the population.

It's about the third highest paying industry today coming in just behind mining and information technology.

We're going through a time of massive technological change.

Decentralised finance or Defy and blockchain technology are transforming and reshaping the industry and there's a great demand for people with those skills.

The average starting salary is about 62,000 for a graduate and the roles available are extremely diverse.

There are also many international opportunities and you can work in a large organisation or you could be part of a start up.

The finance industry caters for all types of personalities, including those who like detail, those who like to build relationships, technology enthusiasts, problem solvers, deep thinkers, and even those who like routine.

Many of you will have multiple careers.

You'll start in one area and end up somewhere entirely different.

You will need to build additional skills throughout your career by undertaking further education and training.

Things can change a lot in a couple of years.

My best advice is just to start somewhere today.

I have my own financial advice business which gives me a lot of interesting and challenging work and it allows me the flexibility to actually teach at TAFE in the Bachelor of Commerce degree and I get to study financial technology at the same time.

So you don't have to know exactly what you want to do when you finish school and you don't have to have the top Marks and HSC, but you should start with something that you like and an industry that provides you the opportunity to grow your income and that will hold your interest for the next 50 years or thereabouts.

Currently, there are statewide labour shortages across all areas of finance, especially in the accounting, analytics and technology areas.

With projected employment growth requiring an additional 28,000 workers over the next five years, it's a great time to get involved.

By researching the industry requirements, you can make your entry into the workplace much easier.

You don't need to start in one area. You could start with vocational education and then move on to a university degree. It doesn't have to be 1 or the other, for example. There's a lot of opportunity. There's a lot of demand and opportunity to earn a great salary as a Bass agent or tax agent.

The requirements to work as a base agent include the certificate for in accounting and then to work as a tax agent, the diploma of accounting.

Industry panel

Erin Hallcroft – People and Culture Manager

Alexis Wheatley:
Next up, we're going to ask four different panellists about their experiences.

First up, we have Erin Hallcroft.

Hi, Erin.

Welcome and thanks for joining us.

Erin Hallcroft:
Hi Thanks, Alexis.

Alexis Wheatley:
Earlier in the event we heard from Selena and Kyle about their journeys in accounting.

Aaron, you're the people and culture manager at Voice Chartered Accountants, which is the largest independent professional services firm in New South in regional NSW.

A lot of us are under the false impression that accounting is boring and and maybe a robot, maybe a robot could do could do the same job.

Can you tell us what happens at Voice?

Erin Hallcroft:
Yeah. So thanks, Alexis.

That is something I think the finance industry and accounting as a whole struggles with an image that we're boring. And you know, we sit behind computers all day entering data, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

So particularly now over the past few years, the industry's transforming. So a lot of the basic boring, repetitive processes are actually being automated with our digital transformation in the industry.

So that's actually opening up our accountants time to be able to spend as business advisors.

So not sitting at the desk, but partnering with our clients, managing that client relationship and helping them achieve their commercial goals or their retirement goals.

So there's been a lot of focus I guess, at Voice at least and in the industry on that digital transformation that we're seeing happen.

Alexis Wheatley:
Can you give us an example of a business that Voice has helped or transformed?

Erin Hallcroft:
We have quite a few nonspecific that I can talk about, but what we help them do is develop their app stacks.

So we've got an in house digital transformation team and they partner with our clients to work with them on what to go through that digital transformation process in terms of business advisory and difference makers.

There's a story with one of our directors, Carolyn Wiltshire, and she helped over the past 20 years she's been partnering with a small, it was a small business, a small bakery.

And over 20 years she's helped them transform into a major baked goods empire.

And it's not her doing their tax returns, it's her advising them on what's the best way to spend our profit.

So we're going through this period of downturn, what should we be doing?

Where should we be investing?

So that's what she's done.

She actually helps them with recruitment and employment.

She's just there, but basically another business partner for them, which is great.

Alexis Wheatley:
Yeah.

So not just filling in tax returns.

Erin Hallcroft:
No, absolutely not.

So it's a lot of client relationships and being analytical about their situation and understanding the industry that they're in as well.

So all of our team members have the opportunity to learn across the different industry sectors that our clients work in.

We are predominantly have primary production clients, however we've also got lots of large like manufacturing clients, lots of small business clients, mum and dad type situations.

So we you're not stuck with one client base.

We like to get the team out across everything.

So you're learning about cotton growing, you might be learning about livestock or just different things in different ways to apply all these great tax rules to get the client the best outcome.

Alexis Wheatley:
That's really interesting, Erin.

And, and I understand that voice has a very strong culture of corporate responsibility as well.

Can you tell us a bit more about that and and why it's so important to everyone there?

Erin Hallcroft:
Absolutely we do.

We have a corporate social responsibility programme.

It's been part of our culture since they dot since 1973.

And it's the reason a lot of our employees give us for joining boys.

So what we do is what we say.

So we like to give back to the communities that we operate in.

So things like we provide paid leave for volunteer work.

Last year we had some major flooding in Moray where one of our offices is located, and everyone in that office chose to use their volunteer leave to go and help our clients clean up their businesses and their farms.

So that's really nice to see we do.

Each year the team as a group votes on a major charity that we'd like to support and then we fundraise for City to Surf.

We're one of the biggest fundraisers for City to Surf.

So this year and then boys matches all of the donations we make this year we donated I think close to $50,000 to Gotcha for Life, which is amazing.

We've only got, we've got about 150 team members in total, so they really go the extra mile to, to help the local community.

And then each office selects a charity that they'd like to support.

So Moray, this year's doing Moray on a Plate.

Yeah.

And everyone chooses their own local charity to support as well.

It's a fantastic culture.

It really helps with team building and it's really important to us.

Alexis Wheatley:
That's great, Erin, in the next couple of seconds because we're running out of time.

Sorry.

Erin Hallcroft:
That's all right.

Alexis Wheatley:
You have some quick advice for students considering this career path?

Erin Hallcroft:
Absolutely.

I think it is great to talk to your careers advisors, try and get into a local firm to do your work experience.

We're just running internship programmes now for school students.

You can come and work and get paid in school holidays.

You're not just pigeonholed into accounting.

So you'll learn about marketing, people, culture, audit, super financial advisory, the whole shebang, tech and everything.

And then you can find your fit from there.

Jane Butler – Head of Talent Acquisition, Commonwealth Bank

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks so much Erin.

I'm sure you've altered the view of accountants permanently for many of our students.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Jane Butler.

Jane Butler:
Hi, Alexis, how are you?

Alexis Wheatley:
Hi, Jane.

Thanks for being here today as Head of Talent Equis Acquisition for the Commonwealth Bank.

Can you tell us a little bit about your role and what you enjoy most about it?

Jane Butler:
Big question.

So my role at the Commonwealth Bank is to lead.

I lead a fairly large team.

So I have about 50 people that are responsible for hiring people into the group within our sales and distribution area, largely across all the different lines of business that we have.

And that I'm only one person that heads up talent acquisition within, so one of three people that head up delivery teams into into our business.

So my team, you know, will talk to people that are early on in their career, like many of the students we have here today, thinking about what they may want to do, whether they're wanting to explore opportunities via higher education or move into opportunities straight out of school.

So it's a very varied role.

What do I like about it?

I love seeing how we can transform people in terms of their career and open up career opportunities right from graduates, school leavers, right through to people that are 20 years enrolled.

Like it's really, really exciting.

Alexis Wheatley:
That's that's great, Jane.

The banking industry has also transformed rapidly due to technology changes.

Could you highlight some career opportunities available to young people in banking today?

Jane Butler:
Yeah, so look, technology and digitization has completely changed the banking industry in the last, I guess 1520 years.

Whereas once you know, it was very much you go into a branch, you speak to your, your customer service representative about your, your banking needs.

You know, we have totally digitised, you know, that whole experience for people that want to be able to self serve.

And with digitization, that means that from a banking perspective, not only is the CBA a great paid place for people to come in and, and cut their experience in terms of finance and banking, we have behind, you know, behind the big yellow doors of CBA these days a massive tech business.

So a tech business from an Australian standards that you know, is as big as any here in Australia.

So you know what we're looking at engineering, cyber, analytics, it's huge.

And you know, when we're talking about, you know, the amount of people that we hire every year within CBA, we're talking probably in totality about 12,000 people.

So it's a, it's a, it's a big, big business.

3000 of those sit within our technology division.

So there is so much opportunity for people, you know, within, you know, a traditional, a traditional bank, you can, you know, the world is your oyster and your career within the group, particularly not only with CBA, but it's the same at Westpac and ANZ and you know, other financial institutions.

You can explore opportunities.

You might start in one, one area and you, you can build and grow and, and do you know really some really exciting things?

Alexis Wheatley:
And Jane, can you give us an example maybe of someone that you've supported to transition through different career paths?

Jane Butler:
Absolutely.

Look, you know, you've heard earlier that you know, skill, there is a massive skill shortage in Australia.

And, and one thing that we've been doing in the group over the last two years is really looking at reskilling.

And we have this, this whole business of, of how can we enable people that you know, are in our branch network?

So people that you speak to when you go into a branch, how can we help upskill them to move into various different roles where there are skills shortages?

So without naming an individual person, last year we ran one of our first RE skilling programmes for our analytics business and that opened up the opportunity for 12 people to apply internally for a RE skilling programme role.

They undertook 12 weeks of training and development and at the end of that 12 weeks they were offered an opportunity to interview for positions within our analytics department.

And I don't have the statistics, but I know when it did finish immediately after that 12 week programme, we had 50% of those people move directly into analytics roles.

Alexis Wheatley:
OK.

Jane Butler:
And from their capability is continued to be built, they can continue to do training to cut their teeth in a completely different area to what they were, you know, originally working in.

It really is.

I think, you know, when you talk about what do people really want to do, never think about where your end goal is in terms of a career.

You've heard everyone talk about you Do what you love, do what you're good at because you don't want to be working in a role that you're not going to enjoy.

Build up your skills arsenal, OK, because it's all about skills and you can continue to learn and develop.

But but the other things to be really mindful are some of those soft skills.

You know, you've heard Thai talk about Kai talk about customer centricity.

That is important.

You know, CB as values are all around care, courage and commitment, care for our customers.

You need to be customer centric, having learning agility because you're going to have more than one career.

I have already had a few careers and I'm a lot older than a lot of you.

But you know, the having that learning agility and curiosity to want to continue to grow, to develop and to build.

And you know, the next 50 years for many of you can be very exciting.

Stephen Gracian – Mortgage Broker

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks very much, Jane.

So Jane has spoken to us about having multiple careers.

Next up we have Stephen Gracian.

Steve's story really highlights how you can start in one area and end up somewhere else.

Steve's recently started his own mortgage broking company and in he's in his first year of business with two staff.

Steve, when we spoke earlier, you said starting your own business was the best decision you ever made.

Can you tell us a bit more about this?

Stephen Gracian:
Thanks, Alexis.

First and foremost, I guess for me, I knew very early on that I was very much always a peoples person understood that I, I really liked getting to know people, helping them out.

And I guess that's where I really get all a lot of my, my satisfaction from.

So and just the same as Jane, you know, CB as quality is being very customer centric focused.

And that's where I realised where I was.

I've had a long career in the banking industry.

And now when I started up my own business, I realised that this gave me exactly what I was looking for and that was helping customers find, you know, the perfect fit in their banking needs, their home loan needs, everything.

And starting my own business and being in my first year, I've been quite happy and quite, I don't know, I believe being free, I guess is probably the right word to say.

So it was quite uplifting to see that, you know, not only did my years, years of knowledge and training from the banking industry come through, but allowed me to succeed in my new business where, you know, within the first year, you don't generally see a, a brand new business hire to staff.

But that's kind of how as far as we've grown so far.

So I'm quite happy to, to, to, to, to talk about that.

Alexis Wheatley:
And can you give us an example, Steve, of how you've helped someone recently, very recently?

Stephen Gracian:
And this is a very uplifting story, especially for for for school kids is a person I went to school with for almost 12 years came to me for to help him buy his first home.

And that was probably one of the most, yeah, positive things that I've done since starting my business where, you know, he was my school captain, came to me for advice, talked to me and said how can I achieve my goal of buying my first house?

And it was probably a six month process, but we got there and you know, he's now happy and enjoying himself and building a life and now having kids soon.

Alexis Wheatley:
That's great.

Steve.

Now I just want to have a look at your career path.

How did you get to your current position?

Let's go back to when you started at school.

Stephen Gracian:
Before we begin.

I guess the one thing I'd actually agree with Jane, is that you know, you have multiple careers during your lifespan and you definitely on average there's a study that shows that you change your career paths at least six times.

I was, I was very fortunate to get you probably about 3 at the moment where I started off thinking that I was going to be a football player initially thinking that, you know, I was going to get an NRL contract and after a terrible injury to my ACL, put all of that in the wind really for me.

So from there and being a subcontinental background, my mother kind of pushed me towards getting a, getting a getting an education where I went and did my accounting degree and worked full time as a cadet for an accounting firm at the same time.

At that point, after about two years, I realised that it wasn't really right for me.

I wasn't there to be, to be sitting behind a deck, a desk and, and analysing numbers and law all day, right.

I and I realised very quickly that I enjoyed the people contact.

So went to TAFE, did my certificate foreign banking and, you know, made great relationships with my TAFE teachers who actually introduced me into the bank, which led to a very prosperous working career at the major banks.

So we're started off at just the branch, became the branch manager, then became a lender, and then ended up my career being a commercial banker.

So being at the peak of that gave me the ability to understand a lot of things, understand lending legislation, exactly what's required to, to help a client.

And from there I made the jump to, to start my own mortgage broking firm.

So it was, it was amazing, it was a great, a great journey so far and still not over still got another 30 odd years to go to see how it all handles.

Alexis Wheatley:
And Steve, just quickly, what advice would you give to students thinking about their future career?

Stephen Gracian:
Never be afraid to, to learn something new.

This is probably one of the greatest things about what we can do in life and change constantly and learn something different.

So never be afraid and always take that leap because you know, we've got one life.

We might as well enjoy it and try something new for a, for a change, right.

Callan Haynes – Legal Home Loans

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks so much, Steve.

It's been a pleasure hearing your story.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Callan Haynes from legal home loans.

Hi, Callan.

Callan Haynes:
Hi, Alexis.

Great to be here.

You're doing a great job.

Alexis Wheatley:
Thank you.

Now you've built a mortgage breaking business from start up through to a successful business where you've got a team of 25 people.

Can you tell us a little bit about what attracted you to finance as a young person?

Callan Haynes:
Yeah, it's a it's a great question.

I'd say, Alexis, I've always loved saving.

As a little boy.

My father got me onto Jim Rohn and there's a book out there that the richest person in Babylon, it talks about saving 10%.

So I know what finance and doing it well can do for people.

So I think I had a natural gravitation towards it.

And when I got my first job, 14 and nine months, I'm 33 now, so that's a long time ago.

I got my first job at Big W in Lavington.

Aubrey Wodonga, life on the border, so country boy, and it was located in AI guess a suburb that wasn't that affluent.

So I saw both sides of the equation, what having your money and finance really, really well does and what maybe not so having it good can do.

So I've always taken that with me and I thought career in finance, it was the circuitous route.

It wasn't automatic, but I've always gravitated towards it.

And yeah, but it has been an interesting journey to get to this point.

I didn't leave school and say I'm, I'm going to be in finance.

It took me a few years like a couple of the other panellists to get here where we are today.

Alexis Wheatley:
And you didn't start off studying finance either did you?

Callan Haynes:
No I didn't.

So to let everyone know I started off in, you know, the medical field, radiography because I love physics, working with people and medicine.

So I pulled 3 X rays, see through people.

I did that for about a year and I realised that my personality probably wasn't catered for the hospital environment.

I kept on saying Colin, you've got to tone it down.

People don't want happy people like you in the hospital and I thought would have thought they would, but nonetheless.

So I changed tact and actually studied my MBA, started my MBA and I switched to hotels because I thought that that would be a better fit for me.

And I worked my way up and eventually became, you know, guest experience manager at The Four Seasons and meeting people I never thought I would.

I was looking after John Cleese, Lady Gaga, Oprah, like all these high expectation people, but also guests from the States and also, you know, regular people from Australia.

It was fantastic.

I loved it and I actually met my current business partner at The Four Seasons.

He went off to work at BOQ Specialists, which was formerly Investech, and I went to Macquarie Bank when I finished my MBA.

And by the way, everyone told me I'd never get a job there, but I managed to do that.

So less than one.

Do not listen to the naysayers because there's two ways to have the tallest building.

You can build others up or bring others down.

Just focus on yourself.

So eventually got to Macquarie, went through a couple of years there and my business partner now decided Callum, we need to start this thing.

And that was May the 4th, 2018 which is apparently Star Wars Day.

So may the fourth be with you and it's been 4 happy years and here we are.

Alexis Wheatley:
And Cullen, what, what advice can you give to to students, especially if they're not sure that they have all the attributes that are required?

Callan Haynes:
No, it's a great question.

I would say don't discount yourself on technical abilities because a lot of banks and I'm sure Jane and a few others in the banking industry will tell you they're hiring people with high EQ skills.

It's not all about IQ, it's about EQ, high emotional intelligence, people that love dealing with people and because I had that I guess experience and I had a mind open to everything, attached to nothing, that was probably why Macquarie gave me my shot.

It wasn't the fact that I had an NBA experience, It wasn't the fact that you know, I'd had an it is the fact that I just love dealing with people.

So don't discount that.

And I would say you don't have to always know what you're going to do or where things are going to lead or, you know, even simple interactions.

My business partner and I didn't like each other when we first met.

We actually clashed quite a lot.

But I would say just remember to never burn your bridges because you never know when those people will re enter your life and you never know where that one conversation can take you.

I would say.

Preparing for a career in finance

Alexis Wheatley:
All right, thanks very much, Cullen, and thanks to all our panel members.

It's been great to hear your personal stories and I'm sure they'll inspire our audience when deciding if a career in finance is right for them.

Don't forget to keep putting your questions in in the Q&A chat area.

Next up, we have Lynn Kenny joining us.

Lynn is the career learning coordinator from the NSW Department of Education.

She's going to discuss what's important opportunities you have available to you while you're at school.

Lynn Kenny, Career Learning Coordinator, NSW Department of Education:
Thank you, Alexis, and welcome everyone.

Helen, I hope that's not your business partner.

Sleep on the floor behind you.

Callan Haynes:
Oh no, this is my puppy partner.

This one.

Lynn Kenny:
Look, I was excited to be asked to join you this morning to talk about planning your career options in finance.

I'm both a career learning coordinator and a parent of two young people who have recently made some really difficult decisions about their life beyond school.

And I want to point out to you right up front that there's no right or wrong answer.

When you're thinking about starting a career, what might suit you is not the same as what might suit your friends or your family.

So you have to think about what's going to be right for you, the best fit and and that's what's most important at this stage.

They're a wise consumer of your education and find out as much information as you can while they're still at school where you have professional support, resources and opportunities available to you.

I noticed Aaron was, was one of the one of great pieces of advice was to contact your careers advisor.

So let's explore some of those opportunities that are available to you now while you're deciding what to study in year 11 and 12.

You might choose a vocational education and training course, which is better known as a VET pathway.

Some schools might offer you a course called Financial Services, and if not, you might be able to access it as an EVIT course.

You could complete school with both nationally recognised industry qualifications as well as your HSC.

In a 240 hour course, at least 35 hours of on site work placement has to be completed, which means you don't just learn in a classroom, but you're putting priceless in industry experience in a genuine work environment.

Your careers advisor can help you access some of those ranges of workplace learning options and it must be negotiated and approved by your school to to any time of the year.

Work experience allows you to gain an insight into a world of work and what to expect when working in a particular job.

Employers look for people who with relevant work experience and if you, may even be offered paid work.

If you're worried about missing time out of school.

Work experience and work placement may be completed during some school holidays with the approval of your principal, except the summer holidays.

But in the summer holidays you might think about looking for paid casual work careers.

Expose provide you the opportunity to make representatives from business, industry and your local community to in to discuss current positions.

Available industry visits expose you to the practical working environment.

They're a great opportunity to gain full awareness about an industry for you and your parents.

If it's an after hours event, networking will help you stay on top of the latest trends in the industry and keep your finger on the pulse of the job market.

Meet prospective mentors, partners, and gain access to the necessary resources to help guide you on your career journey.

This is what's so important for high school students to have access to workplace opportunities and career explorations.

And as Callum said, don't burn any bridges.

You never know where your next opportunity is going to come from.

So school based traineeships or SBTS as they're known are also available in finance.

So you attend school and at the same time you have paid work, at the same time that you're studying a bit course to gain a nationally credited accredited qualification and say there's a certificate 3IN financial services or a certificate 3IN accounts administration.

You get paid while you learn and you put the skills into practise in a real work environment.

After you've finished school you hit the ground running and continue with your employment.

But as I said, getting your parents appearance perspective is important because they know you really well and they have had years of life experience that they can share with you.

Lynn Kenny:
So this is the best time in your life to start preparing for your future and your career.

In the past couple of years we've had shifted to online learning and working remotely and there's so many free online resources that are available for you 24/7.

First of all, we've got the Skills Navigator which allows you to discover and compare Skills.

NSW providers.

Take a personality quiz to find your future career and check out traineeship and apprenticeship courses.

My Future explores career pathways and industries and provides tools to discover how your interests, values and skills relate to career and study option skills.

Rd provides a virtual 360 workplace, which is another great way to explore different industries.

See personal stories filmed in virtual reality in different workplaces, including careers offering apprenticeships and traineeships.

The National Careers Institute, or NCI, ensures Australians have access to reliable and accurate careers information, resources and support.

And finally, Careers NSW supports and informs people hoping to start or restart their careers.

Now, you might be feeling a bit anxious about having so much information available to you that you don't know where to start or you don't know how to navigate your way around the information.

So it's really important to have someone to guide you through that process.

Book in some time with your careers advisors to talk through some of those potential careers available.

They help you explore your career goals and aspirations and to navigate your way around all the information and opportunities that are on our farm.

Make an appointment to help make sure you're on the right path for you.

So if you're planning to start a career that might take you on a journey throughout your life, consider taking some time to thoroughly explore the industry to decide whether or not you like it.

Even if you try something and decide it isn't right for you, this could save you a lot of time down the track.

Hopefully today's webinar has helped you clear up some of those questions about careers in finance.

And I particularly liked the messages that we've been getting around customer service and the importance of, as Steve said, of being a, a people person.

Who would have thought that that would have been part of the finance industry?

So the question when I was your age was what do you want to be when you grow up?

But now these days it's more a question of who do you want to be as you grow because there are so many different pathways available.

Thanks.

Finance training and pathways

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks so much, Lynn.

That's a lot of information.

A good place for students to start.

Next, we're going to cross over to Jen Downs.

Jen is the finance industry innovation specialist with TAFE NSW.

Jen, what options do students have to gain skills and connect with industry organisations which are hiring young people?

Jen Downs, Finance Industry Innovation Specialist, TAFE NSW:
Thanks Alexis, and good morning everyone who's joining us today?

I have got our presenters and panellists today.

They've shared some great stories about the diversity in not only job roles, but the pathways to get there.

And so that is I guess what I wanted to talk to you a little bit about today.

So the finance industry is one of Australia's most important employment sectors, supporting the success of individuals, households, the prosperity of businesses and the process of economic development.

There have been more opportunities available for people to looking to start a respected and also a professional career in the finance sector.

So as we've heard today, there's many entry level roles available to get you started.

You may choose to work as a financial officer like Selena with Catholic Care, or look at the ample traineeship opportunities highlighted by Kai and her banking career.

But traineeships are not just available for banking, they're found in mortgage broking, financial services, business accounts administration.

So you can work in a role specialising in payroll or accounts administration, keeping taxation or start out in the insurance and superannuation sector.

Once you learn the basics of these jobs, you can progress to a wide range of supervisory and management roles.

If you continue with your studies you may move into executive roles.

So if you look at the screen today, you can see that there is a little bit of crossover from level entry all the way through to a some higher level.

And you can see that you can also start to specialised.

And that's why it's been the stories that have been shared today so exciting.

You may start in one area and as you build skills you might find out that you are more likely to go off into another area that is of more interest or suits your talents more.

So how far can you go?

If you have a look here, we've got the entry level and it works all the way through to different diverse roles, obviously mortgage, broking, banking, finance, financial services.

But eventually when we start applying that to a business, you can see that chief financial officer is up there.

So you can actually progress your career quite far.

One of the best things about the career in finance is with a passion, willingness to work and a hard work and keep learning you can you can progress very quickly.

And if you hear if you have listened to Steve Cullen and Carl today, that's exactly what they've done.

Even though you could be a CACFOACEO or even a managing director of a large multi global organisation.

Jen Downs:
So this slide now shows the range of courses on offer at taking South Wales and a possible job roles.

These qualifications open up to you.

You might start your career by studying a Certificate 3 in Accounts Administration as part of your HSC, also known as a Launchpad.

From there you may enter the workforce with options to progress to a Certificate 3 Diploma or an Advanced Diploma.

And as you can see on the screen, you can then start to specialise.

So you can see that we move through from a Certificate 3 into the Certificate 4.

You can move across that line.

You can continue going further down into the diplomas, the advanced diplomas.

One of the great things about working with tape, studying with tape is you can go all the way through up to higher education programmes, the Bachelor of Commerce and the graduate certificate and a graduate diploma.

There's also great tradition credit transfer options that can reduce the overall fees for a higher education course.

This slide provides a guide on how long our accredited courses take to complete.

So it gives you the option for part time and also for full time.

This allows you to work whilst also completing these studies and the higher levels.

If you look at the Bachelor's and the graduate certificates, what they do is they add leadership and management skills to your technical skills to enable you to thrive in the fast paced and rewarding industry.

Tape classrooms are designed for practical hands on teaching.

With smaller classes you have access to ask questions from teachers who are well connected in industry and often run their own businesses so they're currently in work practises and can connect you to industry and jobs.

One of the biggest challenges many people face when planning their career is how to get started.

There's other short courses that might interest you if you're on the edge of of looking at your first job, including some cloud accounting, payroll and statement of attainment short courses that introduce you to the finance concepts.

Another thing to look at is the regulatory requirements to consider when planning your career.

So you should consider the requirements of industry memberships.

Some associations dictate what qualifications you will need to become a member and work in the industry, so reach out to your career advisors.

Check out the Tape Me South website for study options.

Look at the finance association requirements and use the QR code coming up next to fill in the survey so we can share other opportunities with you and Jasmine.

I loved your question earlier.

I started my career many, many decades ago as a trainee in an accounting firm and even still now I've worked across 30 different jobs now across finance and business.

However, I keep coming back to data.

I love data.

I love being able to rock myself away for hours on end, research the data, analyse the data, make sure there's no errors in the data and then that's how I can come up with a solution.

So Database Solutions is fantastic and you have that opportunity.

It's not just for the social butterflies.

So you will learn skills that will help you to succeed both personally and professionally.

In life.

There are no limits.

So dream big, work hard and enjoy an amazing career in finance.

Question and answer session

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks so much, Jen.

There's so many options available for students to join the industry through work or study, and it isn't just for social butterflies.

Mathematics, it is very useful, but even if you're not good at it to start with, you will get better.

Now, Amy, what questions have we got available from our panellists?

Amy:
Hi, Alexis, Thank you.

We have had a few questions keeping the panellists busy in the Q&A.

One question that was for Stephen was could you explain a cadetship, what is involved and how can someone apply?

Stephen Gracian:
Yeah, sure.

So a cadetship basically is a paid internship for while you do your university degree generally actually puts you ahead of the queue of a lot of other graduates that come out of university.

You'd be doing your degree part time.

However, by the end of it, you've got about four years worth of experience over a graduate who's had zero and just a just a degree after that.

Alexis Wheatley:
Thanks, Steve.

Any, any other questions, Amy?

Amy:
OK, yes, I, I would like to repeat the question that was for voice regarding the internship or work experience.

So how do students access the work experience opportunities and who was it available to Erin?

Erin Hallcroft:
Thanks, Amy.

So entryways to boys are open to everyone.

So for we can offer internships, which is basically just work experience to come in on the school holidays or we have sort of set programmes or whatever suits really.

We're quite flexible because we are regionally located.

We know that not everybody can relocate just for a few weeks for work experience.

So we do offer those in a remote capacity as well.

We've quite successfully done, had three remote interns over the summer.

Which was fantastic for their men.

For us, we can also do school based apprenticeships and traineeships.

So you go to school and you come, you study and you work with us for around normally one day a week.

It's all paid work.

So that's a nice bonus for everyone.

And if you do do your work experience in your internships with us, then you're more likely or you're held in more high regard to get one of our cadet ships when we run those intakes.

I mean, our cadet ships, we also offer paid study and exam leave, financial support and assistance.

And you get assigned your own mentor to help you through your studies as well, as well as little study groups for people who are at the same kind of stage of their study.

So lots of support and all the information for that's on our careers website just while you're there, Erin, before you switch off your camera.

Amy:
Does Voice host any careers events that give students the opportunities to meet and find out more information about cadetships?

Erin Hallcroft:
We do.

We normally attend the school events, university events that are happening.

We do also periodically, normally at quarter host virtual careers events where you can meet our directors, Q&A with the directors, Q&A with existing cadets and graduates at work at Voice and they're recorded.

So normally you can find those on our website as well.

Amy:
That's fantastic, thanks very much.

Erin Hallcroft:
No problem.

Amy:
This question in regards to the university courses offered at TAFE, are they the equivalent to what a student would study at university?

Jen Downs:
Yeah.

So I just wanted to make it clear that the university course and the TAFE course are the same equivalent equivalency.

They're both a Bachelor of Commerce, so they so when you're looking at the curriculum, it's the same.

So just wanted to make sure that was really clear.

And just also the question there from Cooper, what uni course would be the best suited for going into the finance industry?

So you have the Bachelor of Commerce, but if you're not quite sure, instead of going off to university and getting that debt, if you, if you still looking at what you're interested in, come into a vet course, go to TAFE, do a shorter course because you're still going to get the credit transfer.

That will then make it equivalent when you go to TAFE that when you go off to university or a high education programme.

So have a look at if you think that you might be interested in going down the accounting path or the mortgage barking banking or the financial services, you have that option to do that at a cheaper price at time.

It's a really practical hands on on experience.

And then that credit will then allow you to do a career pathway.

So it's actually really worthwhile looking at the overall cost of of how much will it cost me to come to take and then how much will it cost to go on to university.

And the other things to consider as well are if you want to take a gap year off, do some study at TAFE and also earn some money through work placement, you then are entitled to some additional Centrelink benefits for when you do go off to university.

So there's a lot of wisdom in that as well.

So thank you.

Amy:
So if a student did want to attend a course through university, what would be the best courses most suitable for finance industry?

Alexis Wheatley:
You could virtually start with anything.

Start with what you like, something that has accounting, economics, and just see what you like.

Amy:
Thanks, Alexis.

Jane Butler:
So jump in and just add to that, Alexis.

So great Jane, absolutely great.

You do what you like, you do what you love.

At CBA, our graduate programme is, is all about unlikely matches.

So we have people that have studied medicine and they have joined the bank.

OK, So completely different.

I think what's really, really key, you know, when you're, if you go down that university path, it's all about who you are, your emotional intelligence, like Colin mentioned, it's, it's about the skills that you've attained during that time and it's, it's about you as a person.

Clearly lots of competition, but there are some really softer things that will help you shine through.

Closing remarks

Alexis Wheatley:
Oh, that's all the questions we've actually got time for in the live session, but the panellists will remain in the chat for a while longer if you'd like to continue submitting some questions.

Also, if there's anything else we haven't addressed, we'll follow it up with your teachers that have registered.

Thanks to all our panellists and participants today.

We've received some really good insights into the different areas, work experiences and types of education and training available.

Before you leave the session, we'd really appreciate it if you could complete the survey, which can be accessed via the QR code on the screen.

Thank you for joining us today.