Accounting student Racquel Rand has secured work with the local office of an international accounting firm even before completing her degree at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Racquel, 28, of Sippy Downs was recently offered a graduate position with Bentleys Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors at Minyama while doing an internship there this semester.

She completed the internship one day a week over 12 weeks as one of the final subjects of a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and appreciated the valuable learning opportunity.

“I really enjoyed being given the responsibility of working tasks out on my own and putting the skills that I have learned throughout my studies into practical work,” said Racquel, who started working for Bentleys the week after her classes at USC finished.

Bentleys Sunshine Coast manager Tina Clarke said she was impressed by Racquel’s can-do attitude, her ability to look at situations holistically, and the way she asked practical questions of clients.

Ms Clarke said after such a positive experience with Racquel as the firm’s first intern from USC, Bentleys was now keen to take on further interns from the University.

“The internship allows students to see a cross-section of roles and specialities within the accounting field, and consider what areas they might like to pursue,” she said.

“It’s important that our best and brightest students see that there are opportunities for them to kickstart their careers here on the Sunshine Coast.”

Head of USC’s Business School Professor Lorelle Frazer congratulated Racquel on her success and said internships often provided win-win situations for students and employers.

“It can be an extremely satisfying experience for business owners as they help graduates to become ready to enter the job market,” she said.

“Positive experiences with interns will give other employers confidence in our graduates who, in turn, will become the next generation of employers.”

- Gail Champion