Why Fernando Jofre chose to upskill overseas to transition his career
Before Fernando Jofre began as a project manager for pulp and paper company CMPC in his hometown of Santiago, Chile, he chose to upskill via an MBA overseas.
"I started work at CMPC before I travelled to study an MBA in Australia and, now, I'm back here helping to develop strategic plans and execute key projects on our packaging business," Fernando says.
With an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering, Fernando started at CMPC as a business analyst and then later became a development engineer. It was in these roles that he realised he needed to upskill to further his career.
"Melbourne Business School offered the best platform and opportunities to expand my career," he says. "With its extensive alumni network, industry connections and recognised MBA, it was the right choice for me."
Fernando says what he enjoyed the most about his time studying a Full-time MBA at Melbourne Business School was the chance to travel to Asia and learn a different way of doing business.
"The highlight of the MBA was the business trip to Shanghai. Being able to work on a real project and conducting actual market research in an Eastern market helped us put in practice everything we learned in the classroom."
Fernando was also granted scholarship support, which he says made studying and living in Australia with his then-pregnant wife that much easier.
"The scholarship made a big difference for me and my family," he says.
"We were able to finance my MBA without taking on much debt and that enabled us to move forward with other plans, such as my wife studying her degree and having a child with less financial worry."
As a Chilean down under, Fernando thoroughly enjoyed everything Melbourne had to offer before he moved back to Santiago.
"Living in Melbourne was fantastic. It truly is the most liveable city in the world. Very safe, clean, organised, entertaining.
"We liked it so much that we stayed there for two and a half years after I completed my MBA, during which time we had our son."
Looking to the future, Fernando says he wants to keep practicing his skills to help others in business.
"I'm passionate about helping businesses find their purpose, define their strategic objectives based on that purpose and put plans in place to reach those objectives.
"Overall, I'm enjoying practicing my business skills and looking forward to the future."
To find out more about studying at Melbourne Business School, visit our Degree Programs and Executive Education pages.