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Andrew Marsonet, Project Director – Acciona:

I think for Acciona to have the Future Leaders Program running across the business is a sign of how seriously Acciona takes leadership and is looking forward into the future to develop its leaders. 

Chris Pracy, Manager, Training and Development – Acciona:

The intent of having a Future Leaders Program running across the business, it's about giving them contemporary, consistent leadership practise with a really sound understanding of our business strategy so that they are ready to take on the challenges of the future. 

Andrew Marsonet, Project Director – Acciona:

What I'm hoping for, for leaders now and in the future, is really that they get a better understanding of themselves, a better understanding of how they operate, how they can influence, but at the same time, learning how to get the best out of their people and out of themselves. This is really the crux of leadership. The people leading the program here at UTS are amazing people. They're right on the cutting edge of leadership technology. 

Chris Pracy, Manager, Training and Development – Acciona:

I was fortunate to be involved in the co-design of the program with Natalia and her team. We intentionally reached out to UTS because of their reputation for that strong connection with industry, and they have been fantastic. The 

Simone Wetzlar, Leadership & Culture Coach – Acciona:

Collaboration between Acciona and the UTS on this program has been amazing. We have worked so well as a team. Nothing has been a problem. It's been an absolute delight to work with UTS. 

Audrey Gosling, Finance Manager – Acciona:

The program's fantastic. It's really organic. The presenters are really passionate about what they do, and that really translate into the course content. The coaching sessions have been really valuable because it's a way to reflect on what you've done and what you could do better. What people have told me is that have actually changed after participating in this course. 

Daniel Washburn, Systems Integration & Operational Readiness Manager – Acciona:

The impact of the program, it's given me better understanding of leadership versus management. In the past, I was focused a lot more on managing my team than being a leader for my team. It's given me a better perspective on how I integrate with the broader group in the project. 

Gavin Reymond, Group Head of Strategy & Transformation – Acciona:

So I think the importance of developing our people and retaining them so that we've got a core of future leaders that can take the business into the next phase. 

Chris Pracy, Manager, Training and Development – Acciona:

Our feedback has been really positive. We are bringing people from all over the country. The ability to make those connections to network, to have a critical phone-a-friend is an added bonus to the academic content that's being delivered. 

Simone Wetzlar, Leadership & Culture Coach – Acciona:

My hopes for the people on the program is that they can reach their full potential as leaders and they can pass on what they learned to the teams underneath them, and that by doing this right across the Acciona business, that we'll get a common language and a common understanding about modern leadership. 

Andrew Marsonet, Project Director – Acciona:

I believe that this program will create a quantum leap in the leadership performance of all of the team members that go through the program.

I think what sets the Acciona Leadership Programme really apart from other programmes is the trusting relationship we have established with our client, which has enabled us to work on the real challenges and opportunities that the business is facing and to support them to obscure their leaders so they can deliver on these challenges and opportunities.

In all our programs we focus quite a lot on designing learning experiences, upskilling experiences that enable participants to practice new tools, skills and techniques.

What we really call upskilling is actually being able to do things differently and better from how they used to do this.

It's been fantastic to actually see the development of this program.

Here's some of the feedback from our leaders in the organization in terms what we needed to do and some of the gaps we needed to close and then the process to actually close those gaps.

But the most pleasing thing is seeing that people that haven't necessarily worked together because they've been working in different parts of the business are actually now working together effectively, meeting people, breaking down those silos and working as one group.

And I think the feedback we've had that people have learnt a lot, both technically, they've grown and they've appreciated the investment that we're making in them and that's they're building relationships to actually make us succeed going forward.

I think one of the biggest benefits is the networking opportunities.

We shouldn't underestimate the power of bringing the senior leaders together.

This has given us the opportunity to be part of the future strategic planning of our business and really have a sign and input or even just get a better understanding of where we're heading, what our N is going to be.

Doing that across multiple leadership layers has given us the ability to not just transfer knowledge, but to also hear from some of the other leaders and some of the emerging leaders what they want, what they want a business to look like and what the key focuses should be for us as a business so that we continue to hit the mark and that we remain competitive.

So the UTS Future Leaders program has allowed me to better facilitate myself so that I can actually train my workforce, my team, so that they can take the next step and become another future leader.

And I feel this is very important to have as part of a company.

I've learnt and I've gained a lot from being able to contribute and collaborate.

I've really enjoyed the banter and the feedback and the collaboration.

Oh look, I think just the opportunity to see the team grow really warms.

You see how far these guys have come in a short period of time and gives you a bit of comfort.

The company's got some really good support in future years and help us grow into a successful organization.

Give the course an opportunity to take the time to learn and grow and really enjoy meeting the wider peer group that you will during the group exercises and have fun.

It's really great to see some of the outcomes now where there's been a real alignment of some of the initiatives that people have been working on together with some what's been happening more broadly in the organization to really take us to now that next step.

Natalia Nikolova:

So this program is designed for John Holland's infrastructure future leaders, so leaders who have been identified as emerging and having high potential to take on future roles in leading projects or functional units.

The program focuses on a couple of key areas of development. One is their leadership skills. So starting with self leadership, understanding better their strengths and capabilities as a leader and how they can further improve. And then taking them on the journey of how can they better lead adaptive teams, so around team leadership. And then focusing on their role as strategic leaders. So what is their contribution to the strategy of John Holland infrastructure and John Holland more generally and how can they contribute to achieving John Holland's vision, mission and goals?

Margaret Riley:

We saw this as a key plank of our retention and attraction strategy. There was a real gap in our leadership program. We were very keen to find our top talent in our business and grow those individuals into the future leaders of our business. This program absolutely makes those team members match fit for the future challenges that our business will be facing.

What I observe is the level of enthusiasm. Everybody has been really enthusiastic. Every challenge and opportunity has been really generously received by every person who's participated. And that's not just the participants themselves. I include the participants who have been the leadership team from our business unit as well. So all of those people have benefited. They've met new people, they've learnt more broadly around our business and they've been able to directly contribute to some of our key strategic challenges.

Natalia was fantastic, really great to work with, very accessible, full of great ideas, really energetic and enthusiastic and hugely passionate about what she does in adult education. When you've got that level of enthusiasm, it's really infectious, and I really saw that being translated and transmitted into our team. And I think that's part of the strength of the program.

Madalena Pereira Ribeiro:

I meet a lot of people from John Holland because I usually work in the project, so I don't have that much contact with people from actually the business because I work in alliance. So for me, the best part is be able to be a part of John Holland and meet people from other projects as well.

Laura Evans:

In an organization we look at different horizons within the business from shorter term to longer term. One of the reasons I wanted to join this program was to understand more of the longer term strategy and setting the longer term vision for what we do and how we go about things. So given some of the tools that we've learned and the approaches to take to look at some of that longer term strategy, I'll use some of that now in what I'm doing as opposed to looking at my day to day and how we can make changes to the way we go about things for the approach in the future.

Tom Ryzak:

It'll make me think more strategically instead of delving down into the detail. As a leader, to develop as a leader, you need to have that strategic oversight. The tools and the processes that I've learned on this program have enabled me to grow in that space.

Natalia Nikolova:

So co-design is extremely important in order for us to be able to provide a program that is fully customized to the needs and expectations of our learners. So for the ability of participants to apply what they're learning in our programs, we spent a lot of time, a lot of focus effort on co-designing the program with our clients. So what we do is we really go into a deep design thinking, exploration process, understanding who our clients, who is the audience, what are their needs, and what stages of their development are they, where do they want to go, and how can we best support them. So what are the key areas of improvement they need to focus on? And also what are the specific tools and techniques we can introduce to them so they actually can become better leaders, better at what they do?

Speaker 1 (00:07): Today we're attending workshop seven of the New South Wales Government Graduate Programme that's run in collaboration with UTS. With the New South Wales public sector, we really believe in the importance of soft skills and transferable skills and this programme helps us to achieve that through the workshops that the graduates attend.

Speaker 2 (00:27): Today's workshop is about storytelling and strategic influence. It's about going into yourself and connecting with the things that have happened in your life and being able to communicate them out to another person or another group. That way through your experiences you can connect with their experiences and you can have some rapport that builds there. When you do that, then there's space for influence to happen because they actually genuinely have a connection with you and maybe something can happen in that space.

Speaker 3 (00:58): We've got a group inside and they're all sitting together as a group of 20 or so people having a great really in-depth conversation with each other and their relationships that they'll make for life. But some of that's been deepened and enriched through the learning experience that they're having in order to really give them the confidence to make those connections and to start to understand the value of having that really strong network. When you're a graduate and you've come out of uni, you have learned some intellectual skills or you've learned some skills that are going to take you into the profession that you're in. But there's not usually any study at uni that offers you how to have a difficult conversation or how to influence or how to speak up in your very first meeting when you might have just been in the workforce for three days. The whole program is geared toward giving them those kind of skills that will give them the confidence to do that.

Speaker 4 (01:45): My confidence has changed quite significantly. I am quite a introverted insular kind of person and throughout my work career through retail and hospitality, I've been able to open up a bit more. But working in government, I think growing into the role as a grad has also enabled me to grow into my confidence as well. Having a lot more faith in myself as a person and also the contributions I can make. Even from a graduate, I've been able to leverage my confidence to put my best foot forward and also to have a voice in the room.

Speaker 5 (02:19): So I think working with professionals from UTS who have a large skillset and that are able to give us graduates advice as well as sharing experiences amongst graduates and being able to collaborate with these graduates has really helped me throughout my experience as a public sector employee.

Speaker 1 (02:34): Collaborating with UTS is really important because UTS really brings innovation to the table and combined with the public service capability framework, it really helps graduates bring the best at the table and also it's a great way to transition from university, continue that social aspect and networking aspect as well.

Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to The Futures Academy.

Speaker 2: Returning from a career break can be daunting.

Speaker 3: Our goals and desires can often shift and change.

Speaker 4: While reassessing our needs and responsibilities...

Speaker 5: ... we're also faced with readapting to the fast-paced, ever changing world of work.

Speaker 6: If you are looking for an opportunity to change an existing career...

Speaker 7: ... or build a new career, where do you start?

Speaker 1: It isn't easy. But the UTS Futures Academy has teamed with with industry partners and the National Careers Institute...

Speaker 8: ... to create a pathway to assist women...

Speaker 2: ... who are pursuing the important next step in their career development.

Speaker 7: If you are reinvigorating a career that's been on hold or focused on breaking new ground...

Speaker 3: ... then the UTS Futures Academy is here to help.

Speaker 6: Taking advantage of the experience and skills of our dedicated partners and participating employer groups...

Speaker 2: ... UTS is inviting 25 women...

Speaker 8: ... 25 women...

Speaker 5: ... 25 women to participate in a program...

Speaker 3: ... designed to build the career in digital marketing...

Speaker 8: ... as well as providing new technical skills required for digital marketing.

Speaker 1: The program will focus on providing coaching and networking opportunities...

Speaker 5: ... which will help our participants address the challenges ahead with confidence and success.

Speaker 3: And the successful participant can complete the course at no cost.

Speaker 1: No cost.

Speaker 2: No cost. We can even help with carer's cost.

Speaker 4: Learning sessions will take place between August 2022 and February 2023.

Speaker 6: We know you'll need flexibility, so we've designed a program that is flexible and adaptable to your needs.

Speaker 1: So you want to know more? To apply, go to womenscareerconfidence.com.au.

Speaker 7: We look forward to meeting you and working together...

Speaker 5: ... to help you build a fulfilling and exciting new career.

Speaker 1:

The Strategic Problem Solving Program is designed for anybody who would like to improve their skills in addressing complex strategic challenges. So it is suitable really for emerging leaders, for experienced leaders, for teams who are looking for better ways to address complex challenges. This is something that everybody does, independent of their role or particular career or industry they're working in. It's a skill set that is relevant for everybody in any type of organization.

Speaker 2:

For my team, participating in this kind of program will really help Telco, both in terms of delivering its strategy, but also in terms of growing and uplifting internal capability. And I think it's really equally important from both things. It helps us deliver our work, but also helps make sure we have the kind of organization that we want to be, which is why we're focusing on making the training and the skills and the growth of our people as important as actually the work we do. 

Speaker 1:

So the way we want to do it is by providing participants with the opportunity to apply the skills and the tools and techniques that we introduced them to straight away, as part of that learning experience. So, that means that we are co-designing the program with a client. We work with a client on defining strategic challenges, that the teams will then solve while they're undertaking the program. And we want to make it as realistic as possible, as close to their real working situation and context as possible.

Speaker 3:

So I think the course will helped me to build really good relationships across teams within the telecommunications authority and also within the team. And the reason why is it outlines a very clearly defined, but rigorous and scientific process to solve problems and to bring other people in on the journey to solve the problems, using their expertise, using a very efficient and effective manner, so they feel part of the solution. They feel like they're valued. And it's a win-win for everyone, because you get a better solution from tapping their expertise than if you didn't in the first place.

Speaker 4:

The key learning that I took away from this program was to pause and really think about the problem, before you jump into the solutions. And I think that this is something that we can implement really easily within our team quite quickly, when we go back into the office. After completing this program, the things that I would do differently are really using the tools and frameworks that I have learned at the appropriate time during the problem-solving phase.

Speaker 2:

I'd chosen this course, because it offered a really good mix of both design thinking and more traditional strategic problem-solving skills. And I think that's exactly what I want my team to be able to pull together and use.

Speaker 3:

Highly recommend the course to other people, because I think it will add a lot of value to their careers and also to the organization they're working for.