Travel team study to build business skills
Helloworld Travel managing director Kim Dunwell and travel professionals Berta Ohlson-Down and Ellise Buckley are finishing their New Zealand Diploma in Business programme.
Thanks to a scholarship from UCOL Te Pu¯ kenga and the Manawatu¯ Business Chamber, the team studied part-time for two years.
The 2020 scholarships for chamber members were to help them upskill and recover from the impact Covid-19 had on their businesses. The scholarship covered the programme fees for the New Zealand Diploma in Business.
Dunwell thought it would be an excellent opportunity for her team while the New Zealand border was closed and the only work they had was managing credits and refunds on booked travel in 2020 and 2021.
“I offered the opportunity to the rest of the team because I thought it would be good for us to study together. It has been great. We support and drive each other. We’re always checking in on one another,” she says.
Dunwell changed how the business operated in the short-term so the team could attend classes during work hours.
“We all have classes on Mondays, so there is a point in the day when we have to close the doors. We’ve had to limit our opening hours since the borders opened even though business has picked back up. It is a shortterm measure to see our studies through.”
The team found that studying while the business had been so adversely affected was a good way to keep them motivated.
“Studying has definitely increased my motivation, especially with how slow it was here while the borders were closed,” Ohlson-Down says. “It was good to keep motivated to meet deadlines.”
Buckley says studying while working full-time has made her more organised.
“I have to be more organised because I have to switch off from work at the end of the day and get into my study. Also, I have to fit in time to go to classes, so I have to make sure I have all of my work done.
“The leadership and management side of my studies have helped me understand Kim’s position more,” Buckley says.
Business has increased for helloworld since the border reopened, which has made studying more challenging. Dunwell encourages business owners and employees to work together to find ways to balance work and study commitments.
“If people are going to upskill while in full-time work, there has to be an element of outside your work time and during work time to get the qualification done to a good level.”