ISR - Students - Student stories

Student 12: Middle manager, Department of Housing and Works, Western Australia

Why did you do the course?
To learn more about the area in which I work. Prior to working for Homeswest I studied and worked in a completely unrelated field.

What were the benefits of doing the course?
Increased awareness of the skills that I still need to develop, and of the challenges facing the housing sector. Also, that working in such a diverse sector will provide me with an opportunity for personal growth through the need to have to engage in such a wide range of activities.

The course has "revitalised" the way I think about housing. It has given me more energy to go about my day-to-day duties, and it has given me the tools –the specific understanding –to enable me to inform, educate and motivate my colleagues and subordinates about what do.

Did your specific housing skills and knowledge improve as a result?
Absolutely! I am furthermore developing a better understanding of why some pragmatic and tough decisions are made at more senior levels. These previously caused me to be concerned that people (staff and clients) haven't been adequately cared for. My thinking in this area has changed quite a lot.

Where do you think your working future lies?
For the time being, with the Department of Housing and Works. Perhaps once I've become more rounded in terms of understanding the various areas within the sector, I may take a look at a challenge within the community sector or in a different (but related) government sector.

Other comments?
Without my department providing a scholarship I probably wouldn't have given this course a look-in.