Mature age students: career move pays dividends

Back in 1988, a young Westpac finance executive was encouraged to undertake further study at the then Securities Institute of Australia.

At the time, the Securities Institute was acknowledged as the leading financial services educator in the nation.

Fast forward nearly 21 years, and that same finance professional has continued to further her career through a series of courses and the Securities Institute has changed its name to Kaplan Professional.

Now 47, Kathryn Calman has managed to mix her successful career with motherhood and a commitment to lifelong learning with Kaplan Professional.

In recent months, she has just completed her Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and intends to start her Masters later in the year.

At present, Ms Calman is taking a break from work and her studies to spend more time with her three children, aged from 11 to 15.

“I originally started at the Securities Institute when my then-manager made it clear further study would be good for my career,” Ms Calman says.

“I became a financial planner and, as I moved around the bank, I ended up as a business analyst. I was working in superannuation at the time, and I started a second course because I wanted to get up to speed on super.”

By the time Ms Calman had finished her second course, she was well ensconsed in her role as a business analyst at Perpetual and she has worked across the company.

Juggling her three roles as a full-time employee, mother and student was tough, but she did it because she enjoyed it; “I commute for 80 minutes every day from Beverley Hills to the city and I used to devote that time to study. If I had any exams or large assignments coming up, I would try and fit some study in on the weekend as well.

“Perpetual strongly encourages its employees to undertake further study and they reimburse your fees if you pass.

“What’s more: the courses I have undertaken have not only been a boon to my career, they have also proved to be rather relevant in life as well. For example, one subject focused on estate planning and management which was one of the best I’ve done.”

Ms Calman says Kaplan provide a very supportive learning environment with excellent course materials, tutorials and lectures online: “If you have a problem you can logon to a discussion forum and someone will always get back to you.”

She admits to not utilising all of Kaplan’s resources because of the rich vein of knowledge available to her at Perpetual.

“A number of my colleagues have also been enrolled in courses at Kaplan and we would also work out together in small study groups at work,” Ms Calman says.

“Furthermore, there was always someone available in the office who could explain anything we didn’t quite understand.”

In the future, Ms Calman intends to keep studying as she is a strong advocate of lifelong learning.

“Education doesn’t finish with school or university,” she says, “and I think it’s good for my children’s own study habits to see their parents studying constantly.

“Importantly, my studies have really broadened my career options. I now have three career choices whether it be a financial planner, a superannuation specialist or business analyst.”