Louise Woodcroft

Louise Woodcroft, Group Manager for Talent and Engagement at Qantas, has over 13 years of experience in human resources. Starting in recruitment, she developed a holistic approach to the employee lifecycle, honing her skills across recruitment, change management and talent management. And in 2016, Louise was named a ‘Rising Star’ by HR Director Magazine.

With an already impressive career, Louise set her sights on an MBA to take her skills to the next level. Motivated to bolster her commercial acumen, she confidently dove into her MBA studies.

What was your motivation to start an MBA?

 I’ve been thinking about studying my MBA for a number of years. And I’d reached a point in my career where I really thought I needed to do something to strengthen my commercial acumen, being a professional in Human Resources, I was quite nuanced in my field. And I was finding that in order to grow and develop further across the business as I was working in having an MBA would be a strategic advantage to really understand my stakeholders and business partners and ensure my own strategies were aligning to what they were working on as well. 

Why AIB?

When choosing where to do my MBA, AIB really stood out because of the different and flexible study modes. Being online was really appealing in order to balance work life and study. The enrolment process was simple; the fantastic team at AIB set my enrolments and took care of each semester of my subjects. I could focus on my studies and what I needed to deliver rather than considering all the administration componentsyou may have if you’re attending a university in person. The flexibility of the online lecture times you had a choice of when you could dial in, and if you couldn’t dial in, the videos were available to watch later, really made it easy to fit it in around a busy life of work and all the other extracurricular activities that adults have these days.

Did you have any apprehensions before starting?

I think for me, I was always wondering, is it the right time to do study? And I think I came to a point where I realised it’s never going to be the right time to start an MBA, but it’s always the right time to invest in myself. And that is what the MBA was for me, an investment in myself in my skills, in my future. And I certainly don’t regret taking the plunge and enrolling and you know, here I am today, graduating, it was definitely the right move.

What would you say to others feeling the same?

If you have the same apprehensions about, is it the right time to do an MBA, I think really look at what it is that you’re wanting to do the MBA for. If it really is something that’s important to you, to your career to your ambitions. I think you’ve got to start it. If it’s not right, you can take a break, you can pause you can come back to it later. But it’s one of those things where you’ve got to jump in, give it a go. Because if you don’t, you may regret it later. And you know, the perfect time is now. Give it a go. See how you feel and you’ll be able to balance and fit it in around your own schedule. 

Do you recommend the AIB MBA program?

I found the whole AIB learning experience fantastic. Having done my undergraduate degrees online via distance education. I was so impressed to see the quality of the materials, the support that was delivered online from such a broad and well-experienced faculty. And I would definitely recommend AIB as a business school for anyone looking for further education.

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