Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resources Management, and Operations and Supply Chain Management
Intern, Citycare Group
Josh's Intern Consulting Project with Citycare was a fantastic opportunity to develop his personal and professional skills, as part of his business studies at UC.
"I learnt and absorbed so much!" he says. "My particular area of HR (Training and Development) was very exciting. I was working on improving their current eLearning process.
"The eLearning sphere has changed rapidly over the years. Now there are organisations that offer an embedded service to allow for in-work learning."
His MGMT 390 project involved investigative research in eLearning technologies that would best suit Citycare's learning needs across its different services, resulting in Josh proposing a specific platform.
"I quickly found out that Citycare is different to any other organisation, and understanding an organisation's context is paramount. You simply cannot compare apples with pears," he says.
"Asking the right questions and being able to translate the information back to key stakeholders is invaluable, something I realised along the process. I could have spent weeks, even months researching for different solutions, but you have to be able to know what you are researching for, and again, be able to ask the right questions. Also, ensure you have a rich understanding of your business and the previous pitfalls. This will enhance your research skills."
Studying a double-major BCom degree has given Josh a well-rounded background in business management, which worked well with his internship project.
"My passion definitely lies with HR but I think it's very valuable understanding how the business operates, hence why I am majoring in Operations as well," he says. "The internship and my studies at UC constantly overlapped. I was applying material from my lectures left, right and centre. The internship certainly solidified my passion for HR which is great because I have spent the last three years studying the profession."
Being exposed to the day-to-day operations of a real HR team has helped Josh determine his career prospects.
"I wish to be involved in a lot of areas that HR has to offer. Although, at the moment I am particularly interested in Human Resource information Systems (HRIS). HR is inherently transactional and being able to transfer much of these activities online will leave HR practitioners with much more value-adding activities.
"My superior was a fantastic leader, they were involved in many different activities and everyone had respect for them. I want to be able to emulate this further down the track. I want to engage and communicate with many different business functions and many different groups of people."
Definitely the personal growth his internship project provided has made the experience far more worth it, and he strongly encourages other students to take the opportunity.
"I have learnt and developed as an individual so much because of the experience. I believe I am much more employable because of it," he says.
"Furthermore, immersing yourself in a professional capacity has bridged the gap between the academic and professional. It can be daunting entering the workforce for the first time, especially if you have no experience. This has facilitated an easy transition."
Josh is particularly thankful for his time at UC for giving him a strong start to his HR career.
"UC has been one of the best experiences to date. UC"s student clubs initiatives is like no other, also not to mention the career development opportunities is fantastic. Make sure you take advantage of these. UC is also a very exciting place to be because there are new buildings emerging constantly."
