Kasey Atkins was only halfway through her Certificate III in Business Administration at TAFE Wollongong when she got her first fulltime job.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Though the 18-year-old Dapto resident is adamant the course gave her the confidence to nail her job interview.
Miss Atkins said the course also gave her the practical skills she needed to hit the ground running in her job with Heard McEwan Legal.
"I was unsure what I wanted to do when I left school and I saw this TAFE NSW course come up and thought it would help me get a job," she said.
"I absolutely loved the course; it really built my customer service and computer skills, and also my confidence.
"I wouldn't have the job I have now without doing it."
The Dapto teenager added her TAFE experience and employers were now helping her greatly adapt to all the challenges of COVID.
I wouldn't have the job I have now without doing it.
- Kasey Atkins
"My job has really been good. We are all sticking together as a team. They have been really welcoming with me, my experiences, teaching me new things," she said.
"Even though half the workplace is working from home, it has still been really fun and a good new experience for me to learn all these new things '
Miss Atkins is one of a number of students to land a job before completing their Certificate III in Business Administration course at TAFE Wollongong.
The course was taught by Kim Dufty, who urged Wollongong businesses to pivot and embrace a new style of customer service in the post-COVID economy.
Ms Dufty, who has three decades of customer service experience across a host of industries, said with more transactions likely to take place online in the coming years, it was critical frontline staff were armed with written, as well as face-to-face, customer service skills.
It comes as more than half the students in Ms Dufty's recently completed Certificate III in Business Administration class at TAFE NSW Wollongong secured jobs before graduating.
She said this was testament to the growing demand for job-ready business administration professionals but also to the course's emphasis on customer service skills.
Ms Dufty pointed to the Labour Market Information Portal, which stated business administration roles were expected to grow by more than 12 per cent nationally in the next five years.
"You can have the best product in the world, but unless it's underpinned by good customer service it won't succeed," she said.
"With less face-to-face business likely to be the norm post-COVID, those written word skills - in emails, on social media - are going to become even more important.
"Building trust and relationships with customers will take a different type of approach and that's why written customer service has such a strong emphasis in the TAFE NSW course."
The course's focus on customer service skills has also earned high praise from management of the 2019 winner of the Illawarra Business Customer Service Award, Symbio Wildlife Park.
"The role of customer service in business has changed massively in recent years," Symbio Wildlife Park marketing manager Kevin Fallon said..
"It's critical businesses learn the fundamental skills of conversing with a broad range of customers in both face-to-face and written forms.
"This will be increasingly valued by businesses into the future and it's great to see TAFE NSW arming the workforce of the future with these skills."
The Illawarra Mercury news app is now officially live on both iOS and Android devices. It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
