Win Scott
Win Scott joined William Angliss as a sessional teacher in 1990 when the Institute was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Win had a background in hospitality as a Restaurateur in Bendigo but was in Melbourne, a mature age student, doing an Arts Degree and she needed part-time work. She applied for a job at William Angliss and “fell in love with training”.
She is proud of her progression from Sessional teacher to Director of Student Education and Training in just nine years. She believes that her progression was due largely to her two year role as elected staff member on the Board: it was here that she learned about TAFE funding and history and many other aspects of TAFE. She advises staff that if they aspire to a management role it is a great way to start. Her transition was very neat but going onto the Board of Management was the turning point
Win was sixteen years at William Angliss and during that time she both witnessed and was part of many changes in the management of the institute and the “Bricks and Mortar”. She saw the Institute grow under the entrepreneurial management of David Weston CEO, customer focussed management systems that allowed tracking of progress, new facilities and new initiatives such as the Coffee Academy and Patisserie – both very successful industry partnerships.
What impressed her about William Angliss was the loyalty of the staff. A survey she conducted showed that a third of the staff had been students at William Angliss. She believed that they went on to have careers in industry but returned to “give something back to the Institute”. The feeling of family that pervades the Institute is due to this loyalty she believes.
After 16 years, Win reached a stage in her personal and professional life where she was seeking new challenges and was free of family commitments to explore them. She was offered a role as CEO at Sunraysia Tafe and was pleased to have the opportunity to manage an institute with a broader delivery.
Interviewee: Win Scott
Date of Interview: 13 July 2012
Recording Format: MP3
0:22
Early Career & Teaching at WAI
- Was a restaurateur doing a degree in Arts (professional writing) and needed part time work, so applied for a job and “fell in love with training”
- Joined in 1990 as a sessional teacher and became a Director in 1999 and was proud of it (David Weston who was CEO at the time said that it was impressive to become a Director in nine years)
- She could see from the start that there were opportunities for further teaching and management positions so stayed on
- Struck by the sense of loyalty in employees, in an analysis she found that 1/3 of the staff had graduated from WAI, and this makes for a ‘family-like’ environment
- WAI provides its graduates with a sense of pride as well as career aspirations, so many feel a pull to come back and put something back into the Institute
- When she was working in the industry she remembers the prestige of WAI as the place to go for a career in hospitality
- Began as a sessional teacher for a few years (contract) and then she applied for an acting position as equal opportunity officer and learned about access and how TAFE worked that she had not dealt with before in private enterprise
- Then was elected staff member on the Board for two terms and was involved in the funding side of things and saw a huge opportunity in management
Restaurateur; Mature-age student; sessional student; mature age student; professional writing; 50th Celebration; 60th Celebration; Director; David Weston CEO; public sector organisation; hospitality industry; equal opportunity officer;
access and equity; TAFE; private enterprise; supervisory position; management; Board;
5:12
Highlights and Achievements at WAI
- Trying to change mindset of people in management about attitude and criticism of front line staff (teacher bashing) and tried to get people to respect teachers
- Feels enormously proud of how facilities were upgraded and new programs like the Coffee Academy, patisserie and creation of working partnerships with private enterprise were implemented during her time at WAI
- Worked for 6 years as Supervisor of Education and Training which involved the planning and delivery of all educational programs
- Oversaw the success and expansion of Dive Resort Program, a full fee paying Diploma (introduced before she started in the role) and Spa Management and looked for opportunities to focus on growth, particularly in International students at the Institute
- The campus changed and expanded from when she first began in 1990 thanks to great staff who were fantastic at managing buildings, finance and properties
- ‘Great Chefs’ program was a terrific initiative and many chefs in top positions in Melbourne mostly came through WAI
- During her time WAI went from a small institute to a large institute, and there was a big overhaul of the systems that became more business-like, where the way students were enrolled and reported on were expanded and the finance systems went from average to outstanding
performance and commitment; innovation; upgrade of facilities and new programs; Dive Resort Management; International students; Spa management; Jim Stoikus (Property manager); Kevin Ainsworth (director of corporate); food culture; Michael Miller (manager of foods); Great Chefs program; financial systems; enrolment & reporting procedures; campus changes;
11:07
Career after WAI
- Got to a stage in career in life where needed new challenge and saw a job advertised at Sunraysia and pleased to get a CEO job good to have an opportunity in a regional institute able to have a broader delivery and learn new things
Diploma of Education;
13:09
Insights into WAI
- David Weston brought about a turning point for the institute as his entrepreneurial approach changed it from a school into a business, where people became customers (even the State Government) and he was instrumental in the growth of Angliss National
13:59
Interview Concludes