Student Q&A: Julio Hablutzel

Julio Hablutzel is one of Upskilled's dedicated alumni students and he studied the certificate-level Project Management qualification with Upskilled. After dedicating 20 years as a Senior Quality Systems Specialist, Julio was ready to take on a new challenge in his career.

In this Q&A, he shares why he studied the course and how it helped him land the role of his dreams as Quality Management Systems Analyst at Roads and Maritime Services. 

Could you tell us why you chose to study Project Management?

I have been working as a Senior Quality Systems Specialist for 20 years and I started to feel like I was not progressing in my career. Generally, I was taking one or two-day courses to polish my skills or acquire new ones but I was going nowhere with that. 

I thought about studying Project Management for quite some time but I was undecided until I spoke with one of Upskilled’s Education Managers at the time, Jesse Dawson. He was very good at answering all my questions and advised that it was the right course that would help achieve my professional goals.

You’ve mentioned that gaining this qualification has helped you gain a job at Roads and Maritime Services (RMS). Would you say that this course improved your job prospects?

While studying the course, I was applying for jobs and I had a few interviews lined up. Even though I was a suitable candidate for these roles, I was still not receiving job offers and this left me feeling frustrated and upset. 

I completed the course in May and a job opportunity opened up at the Roads and Maritime Services within the Technical and Project Services department. I decided to update my resume and put an application for the role of Quality Management Systems Analyst.

Following my application submission, I received a call from the Director of Governance, Systems and Analytics who invited me for a job interview and eventually, had the role offered to me - I could not believe my luck!

My role involves working with the Project Management Framework used in all infrastructure projects that Roads and Maritime Services use, so the course I studied at Upskilled was related to my position. 

What skills have you gained from completing a Project Management qualification?

Upon completing the course, I realised that my time, stakeholder, risk and quality management skills have improved as I went through the subjects.

I learned to prepare a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which is always used at work and in all kinds of projects. My leadership skills have also improved as I applied some of the theory from the course in real work situations and was commended for my work in some of the projects I was involved in for the last few months.

Perhaps the most valuable skills acquired during the course was in team management, focusing on identifying the qualities of teammates, their strengths and weaknesses and how I could help improve their performance and deliver the expected outcomes.

How did you balance work with online study?

Thanks to Jesse Dawson, I had a good idea of what to expect from the course and the effort that was required of me to achieve my goals. 

Once I commenced my studies, I assigned at least two hours every evening to study so I could complete a subject per month. I knew I had twelve months to complete the nine subjects but I wanted to finish early to be free and gain the benefits of a new certificate.

However, I had a couple of situations at work and at home which conflicted with my studies. Due to this, I fell behind my target completing the course. I contacted one of Upskilled’s Student Support Consultants, Rinchen Tsering, and I was given an extra month to complete the course, which was great.

While working and studying is hard to balance, I recommend anyone to put in the effort if you want to live a more satisfying and fulfilling life, especially when it’s regarding your career. You not only gain skills and knowledge but gain confidence in yourself and recognise the value you add to society, the workplace and home.

What aspects of the course did you enjoy and why?

I enjoyed studying at my own pace. I am generally busy from Monday to Friday with work. I also go to the gym twice a week and swim once a week. I also take my son to soccer practice and his game on the weekend. Despite my busy schedule, I managed to get some work done in the evening.

While the flexibility of online study is excellent, it requires commitment to produce successful outcomes.

I also enjoyed my phone conversations and emails with my trainer, Keith Mogford, who was always very helpful, supportive and knowledgeable. Keith is an exceptional individual who brings out the best in anyone and motivates you to achieve the elusive goal that at times seems too far away. 

From day one, he has been exceptionally good to me, showing me a great deal of understanding, top-notch guidance and sound knowledge of the course and project management. I felt super motivated and confident every time he marked my assessments and provided positive feedback. 

Once I completed the course, Keith called and passed on his congratulations for completing the course and was pleased with my overall performance. 

In addition, I was sent a letter of recommendation by him (which I will upload on my LinkedIn and SEEK profiles). In this letter, he describes me as being an “extremely dedicated student who had a genuine interest in his vocational studies.” 

If I was a junior professional, Keith’s letter of recommendation could potentially influence future employers when applying for a new role in an organisation. Well done Upskilled in securing trainers like Keith in your organisation!

What do you believe are important skills to have in project management?

In my humble opinion, the skills relevant in project management are time, people, communication, planning and risk management. Communication skills are important since working on a project requires you to interact with many people across all levels and skill sets, and you should be able to reach them in a clear and concise way for all aspects of the project.

Whether you’re a Project Manager or Project Support Officer, you will need to be a good team player since many tasks are required to be completed within strict deadlines, and these are fairly delegated to the whole team rather than just one person. You learn that more during the course.

Looking at your short and long-term goals, do you think completing a course in Project Management has helped you work towards achieving them? 

I knew that studying would do the trick for me as in the past, every time I completed a substantial course, I ended up in a new job with a better salary and growing responsibilities.

One of my short-term goals was to complete the course and get a position related to project management with Roads and Maritime Services or another government agency, and I’m proud that I have achieved this already. 

Being part of a project working on a large infrastructure project has been a long-term goal of mine, and I believe the course has helped me move towards that.

Want to hone your project management skills like Julio?

 If you want to further develop your skills in leadership and understand the process of preparing and implementing company project plans, the certificate-level in Project Management is a suitable course if you want to achieve these outcomes.

One of the major benefits of studying with Upskilled is that you can study at a pace that suits you since courses are delivered online, meaning you can study anywhere at any time. Studying Project Management can potentially lead to career outcomes such as Project Analyst and Project Administrator.