Despite a thriving corporate career as an executive general manager at ANZ – New Zealand’s largest bank – Keren Roberts always wished she had gained a degree earlier in life.

“I had been the first person in my family to go to university to get a degree, but after completing first year, I realised the university study model wasn’t the right fit for me.”

A few years ago, Keren heard about the Capable NZ approach, and it piqued her interest.

“I strongly valued the offer that experience can count as learning,” she explains. “The Capable NZ model also presented a path to balancing my time between my work, study and personal life. This was very important as I have a hectic daily schedule and a demanding job.”

Keren enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Management and gained her degree in 10 just months.

“Capable NZ offered me flexibility in hours and the convenience of being able to study in my own time – I was even able to meet my facilitator online at times that suited both of us, rather than having to fit around a fixed study schedule.”

Keren describes the course content as clear, valuable and high calibre, and speaks highly of the role of her facilitator, Michael Simmons.

“He realIy helped me to enjoy my study,” she says. “He found the right balance of pushing me and supporting me, and he offered me lots of valuable advice. This was important because I did not understand the academic world and have always felt a little intimidated by it.”

Capable NZ’s work-based learning model ensured Keren’s studies were directly applicable to her workplace, as well as the broader business sector.

“This helped me to develop a ‘philosophy of leadership’ which is uniquely mine, and I can now share that with others around me to help them understand the perspective I take to leadership,” she says. “I also loved learning new things about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and sustainability.”

Keren now feels more comfortable and secure in her leadership style.

“Personally, I am more confident about who I am and the value I bring to a workplace,” she says. “The study process reminded me of many moments in my work history that I’d forgotten about. Now I have a full stocktake of the most significant things in my career, and I have learned to value my past experiences so much more than I did before.”