Neil Kendall of one of Brisbane’s top financial planning firms Tupicoffs has named Griffith University as his go-to when it comes to hiring graduates. He says he estimates 40 per cent of his staff studied atGriffith Business School.
“Griffith is in my opinion the best university in Australia for getting financial planning graduates,” he says. “For us, it’s where we start in terms of looking for someone in the organisation, someone with a Griffith degree comes in with a bit of a head start.”
With the nature of the financial industry constantly changing, Neil says students from GBS are at the top of his list because of the University’s propensity to ensure their course content is relevant, up-to-date, and focused on employable skills.
“Griffith, for us, produces the best graduates in the discipline,” he says. “What we’ve seen with Griffith is a very high engagement with business, so they’re actually interested in making sure the graduates that come out are employable, can be successful in the workforce and have the right sort of training and education to be useful.”
He continues: “I’ve had Griffith lecturers that have been here and sat in on appointments to keep themselves updated on how the industry works today, to make sure that what they are giving students is the very best and it’s up to date.
“They put in a huge effort to be current, put in the right strategies … they’re always making sure what they’re teaching people is the right thing, not just textbook answers but the actual practice of how it works.”
Neil also says the fact that financial planning graduates come out of the degree with a focus on social responsibility is a big plus for his firm. “One of the things that’s always refreshing about Griffith grads is their focus on client outcomes. It’s not about ‘me, me, me’, it’s about ‘how can I help other people?’ and that’s a result of the sort of culture that comes from the Griffith learning environment.”
The Certified Financial Planner says many of his firm’s major industry award winners have come straight from GBS, including the recent winners of the Financial Planning Australia Paraplanner of the year award, Cynthia Sercombe and Money Management Paraplanner of the Year, Kearsten James.
“We’ve seen the countless award winners that have come through the Griffith system, so it’s not only a personal opinion,” Neil explains. “If you look at the industry awards being won, there is a disproportionate number that go to Griffith University and that reflects the quality of people. If you want the best people, just follow the numbers.
“Griffith is well recognised for their quality of graduates and for us they are always our first port of call.”