Su Xiao Hai

The world of business has always fascinated Xiao Hai Su (Sue). In China, her homeland, she spent three years at university studying Business Management and another six years working as an Assistant Manager for a finance company.

Keen to further her career at an international level, Sue headed Down Under in 2002. She studied English for nine months and then enrolled in the National Diploma of Business at NZMA.

"The NZMA course was exactly what I was looking for," says Sue. "I didn't want to go to university and study for three or four years I wanted to do something much shorter and get back out into the workforce.

"I already had experience and business knowledge but I wanted to know about the business world specifically in New Zealand. NZMA's one-year course was perfect for that."

The knowledge Sue gained at NZMA has enabled her to continue climbing the career ladder.

"NZMA helped me a lot and I had a very happy time there. The tutors are very supportive and they bring in guest speakers from within the industry to tell you about their experiences. They teach you how to handle yourself well in job interviews. They also teach students about New Zealand companies and what they are looking for. It was a very helpful course and I learned many skills that I now use everyday in my job like accounting, computer skills, communication skills and teamwork."

After graduating from NZMA, Sue landed a job as an Office Assistant at the Pt Chevalier Tyre Company. She now has permanent residency in New Zealand and works for Trendwest South Pacific, an Australian-owned holiday timeshare company. She was initially employed as a receptionist but was quickly promoted to Assistant Office Manager.

"I take care of all kinds of things in this role. I do some HR work such as organizing leave for the staff. I do some accounting work, taking money, writing up contracts, finalizing deals. I also write weekly and monthly reports and help out in other departments if people are away.

"It's good doing so many different things at work because you learn a lot."

And learning is something that Sue thrives on...next year she plans to do some part-time study in the area of banking, which is a field she'd eventually like to get into.