From accounting to financial counselling, Ranjana is combining her financial expertise with a passion for people, community and making a difference.
For Ranjana, working in finance has become about much more than numbers. After completing a Master of Professional Accounting at Charles Darwin University and spending two years as an accounts officer, she discovered that her real passion lay in connecting with people and helping them improve their financial wellbeing.
Today, Ranjana works with ICAN’s workforce development partner, HK Training and Consultancy (HKTC), as a financial counselling intern, supporting people in remote Northern Territory communities. Having completed her Diploma of Financial Counselling studies with ICAN Learn, she is now undertaking her professional work placement with Anglicare NT while continuing her employment with HKTC.
Her journey demonstrates how existing professional skills, combined with practical experience and accessible training pathways, can open doors to a rewarding career in financial wellbeing.
Finding her passion beyond the numbers
Originally from Nepal, Ranjana’s journey into financial wellbeing began with HKTC, where she initially worked in financial literacy and capability before pursuing a career in accounting.
After completing her master’s degree, she spent two years working as an accounts officer. While accounting provided a strong technical foundation, Ranjana missed the social interaction and community engagement she had experienced in financial capability.
Her earlier work with HKTC had introduced her to the satisfaction of working directly with people, understanding their circumstances and helping them navigate financial challenges.
This experience ultimately drew her back to HKTC, where she could combine her accounting knowledge with her passion for helping others.
For Ranjana, the transition represents an opportunity to put the human into the numbers, using her financial expertise to support people rather than focusing solely on financial records and transactions.
Taking financial wellbeing into remote communities
As a financial counselling intern with HKTC, Ranjana has gained valuable experience delivering services to remote communities across the Northern Territory, including Gunbalanya, Warruwi, Minjilang and Jabiru.
Based in Darwin, the HKTC team regularly undertakes outreach visits, often spending three to five days travelling and working in communities. Some locations require flights, while others involve several hours of driving.
These visits have given Ranjana the opportunity to engage directly with community members through face-to-face conversations and individual appointments.
For someone who values social interaction and cultural learning, working in remote communities has been a particularly rewarding part of her career transition.
It has also reinforced the importance of understanding people’s individual circumstances, listening to their stories and building relationships that support meaningful financial wellbeing outcomes.
Building professional skills with ICAN Learn
When Ranjana learned about ICAN Learn’s Diploma of Financial Counselling scholarship opportunity, she recognised an opportunity to formalise her experience and develop the professional skills needed to progress her career.
Through ICAN Learn’s fast-track delivery model, she was able to combine her studies with her ongoing employment at HKTC.
Weekly face-to-face learning sessions provided opportunities to engage directly with trainers, learn alongside other students and apply new knowledge to her work.
Ranjana particularly valued the interaction with her trainers and fellow students, which helped her develop a deeper understanding of financial counselling practice.
Having now completed her studies, she has progressed to the next stage of her qualification journey: professional work placement with Anglicare NT.
Importantly, Ranjana remains employed by HKTC. Her placement with Anglicare NT provides an additional professional learning environment in which she can consolidate her skills and gain practical experience while continuing her career with HKTC.
Partnerships creating career pathways
Ranjana’s story highlights the value of collaboration between community service organisations, employers and registered training organisations in developing the financial wellbeing workforce.
Through her ongoing employment with HKTC, training with ICAN Learn and professional placement with Anglicare NT, Ranjana is benefiting from a workforce development pathway that connects education with practical workplace experience.
It also demonstrates how people with existing professional qualifications can transition into financial wellbeing roles, bringing valuable transferable skills while developing the specialist knowledge required to support individuals and communities experiencing financial hardship.
For ICAN’s National Workforce Development Initiative, stories like Ranjana’s illustrate the importance of supporting emerging professionals through scholarships, flexible training and strong industry partnerships.
As Ranjana continues her work with HKTC and completes her placement with Anglicare NT, she is bringing together two complementary skill sets: the technical expertise to understand the numbers and the interpersonal skills to understand the people behind them.
Her journey is a reminder that financial wellbeing isn’t just about managing money. It’s about connecting with people, understanding their stories and helping them build stronger financial futures.
