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Back after a COVID-induced two-year hiatus, the Laing+Simmons Scholarship Program will make its return this year.
The initiative affords school-leavers the opportunity to experience the day-to-day operations of a bustling real estate business firsthand. It allows accepted applicants to complete a week’s work experience with one of the 40-plus Laing+Simmons offices within NSW.
In addition to this working experience, the scholarship also offers enrolment in the Real Estate Certificate of Registration Course, as well as continued mentorship by a network leader and a guaranteed full-time position at the group for one overall scholarship winner.
The program’s coordinator, Jacqui Barnes, head of people and culture at Laing+Simmons, relaunches the initiative with an added personal connection to it – in 1999, she herself won a Laing+Simmons scholarship.
“The Laing+Simmons Scholarship Program is one of the key people-focused initiatives which helps set the cultural agenda for our business,” Ms Barnes said. “We want people to succeed and this means offering the proper mentoring and support. In the case of the scholarship program, that means helping people from the very outset, as they prepare for working life after school.
“The program opens eyes and opens doors to give school-leavers a real taste of what it takes to pursue a real estate career and what it offers. It certainly had a profound impact on me.”
While Ms Barnes acknowledged that there can only be one winner of the scholarship, she does concede that more often than not, a team that hosts a young professional as part of the initiative will welcome them into their group at the experience’s conclusion, highlighting how “it all adds up to a major opportunity for young people to kick start their career”.
Ms Barnes will use her own experience of the program – as well as her collaboration with the brand’s numerous principals – to ensure she’s matching the right people with the right offices to maximise the experience for all parties.
“Helping young people get a foot in the door of a busy, competitive, fast-paced industry is extremely rewarding,” she said.
“The Laing+Simmons Scholarship Program is one of the core initiatives that helps us identify and foster talented people into the Laing+Simmons family.”
Prospective participants eager to apply for the three available scholarships must have their applications submitted by 31 July 2022.
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