Paul Rankin is fairly new to financial counselling and works at Anglicare in Bendigo. Paul comes from many years of experience in the accounting and financial management industry and also a number of years in youth work and chaplaincy fields. Living in Bendigo and working in Melbourne made a local financial counselling position look very attractive; Paul decided to jump ship and apply. Undertaking the Diploma of Financial Counselling was a requirement to do the job, so Paul set out to do just that!
Paul stated that “Choosing to do the diploma in Bendigo in a format that worked around my work requirements rather than commuting to Melbourne was a no brainer.”
“Even though I had significant experience in both finance and social work fields I still had much to learn particularly around the legal and technical side of financial counselling.”
Paul mentioned that the diploma has laid significant foundations for him in the legal and technical areas and has added significantly to the counselling foundational skills he already had. Paul outlined that “Blending the assignments with work practice enabled strong reflection and quick learning in my work as a financial counsellor.”
Personal and professional benefits of the industry based course for Paul have included the course and development structure fitting in with his work requirements. Anglicare has been very flexible as an employer, encouraging the professional development and obtaining of the qualification.
“Professionally I am a far more confident employee and am able to provide a far superior service to clients due to the completing the course. Personally, the interruption to my family was reduced and I was still able to earn a full time wage and minimise time away from my family.”
The ‘Bendigo Group’ – as participants in Bendigo have become known colloquially, has been a success due to the willingness and ability of participants to support each other, share ideas and refine individual ideas through discussions and activities in the workplace.
Anglicare has benefited by the conducting of the course in the region; it has enabled addition of new staff members with significant skills in a variety of areas of expertise adding significantly to team practice. The ‘Bendigo Group’ consists of financial counsellors with previous work histories in financial advising, social work, nursing, finance management legal areas of work all coming together as a team to provide a wide range of skills that benefit clients in the Bendigo region.
Congratulations Paul on committing to the financial counselling profession and taking your skills to new heights!
