South American MBA Studies to Bridge The Social Class Gap in Peru

Jose Antonio Talleri faces an uphill struggle to remain in Sydney once he graduates from the Australian Graduate School of Management. His hope to peruse a career in marketing management in one of Australia's six states are dependent on whether the Government will reward him with a working Visa. 

He currently studies on the full-time MBA program at AGSM, ranked 48th in the world by the Financial Times. His student visa enables him to work 20 hours per week while studying, and full-time during university vacation. But it expires in September 2014. 

 

Jose left his home country, Peru, in South America, for a better quality of education in a country that has remained relatively untouched by the global financial crisis. In order to stay working in Australia, he needs a job that would sponsor him with a working Visa. 

 

But AGSM is determined to help students from South America find careers in Australia. The university is touring Santiago, Lima, Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires between September 19 - October 1 to help prospective MBA students find global business careers.

 

And Jose is determined to find a career away from his home, and his family, in Peru. He left a lucrative position at PricewaterhouseCoopers Peru - a branch of one of the Top Four services firms in the world, in June 2012. He was a Business Expansion Coordinator for a year and a half, responsible for strategic projects that influenced the decision-making of PwC partners, in a career with the company across various departments that lasted a combined three years.

 

But his success in services masks an altogether more gloomy outlook for his South American home. The Republic of Peru, a Spanish-speaking country that is home to 30 million residents, has an economy that is lacking behind its more established neighbors. Peru sits seventh in the regional rankings for countries located near the Caribbean Sea, above Costa Rica but a long way behind the bustling economies of Chile and Saint Lucia. 

 

Peru's economy grew at a staggering rate of 6.4 per cent on average every year between 2002 - 2012. The country's middle-class had reached 70 per cent of the population and poverty has been significantly reduced. But growth has slowed - and Jose was prepared to leave his family behind to live in a country that hasn't been affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. "The biggest challenge was to leave behind my family," he said.

 

"The possibility of finding a job in this country, in New Zealand or in Asia, is what attracted me to a career in Australia. Additionally, the the country’s economy hasn’t been badly affected by the global financial crisis and Australia has a well developed tourism industry." 

 

Despite its economic stagnation, Jose thinks Peru is an "amazing country", where many of his friends and family live. But he wanted to experience working abroad, and the "wages in Australia are higher than in Peru; a job in Australia would enable me to recover my MBA investment". 

 

Peru's economy is largely dependent on primary sectors such as mining. The country is influenced by external demand and mineral prices. Jose things that the Government needs to introduce tax measures to foster private sector investments. "We should continually invest in high quality education and in more accurate inclusion policies, as well as in infrastructure and health services," he said.

 

"Peru needs to move from being a primary product exporter to a value added product exporter. We should rely on sectors which the country has sustainable competitive advantages in, such as agriculture and tourism."

 

Jose chose AGSM, Australia's number-one ranked MBA program, to facilitate a switch from financial services into marketing. He liked the laid-back lifestyle (and the surfing). "I wanted to study an MBA that would enable me to make a career switch into marketing," he said.

 

"Even though I knew AGSM’s main focus is in consulting, I was aware of the diverse exchange programs the school has with prestigious universities around the world such as Kellogg, which is very strong in marketing and where I plan to go on exchange.

 

"I wanted to study in a city that had a good vibe, a nice climate and that would enable me to practice surfing, the sport that I love. Australia also has a well developed tourism industry and I would like to work in that sector."

 

In December 2002, Jose worked as a waiter and housekeeper at a mountain vacation resort in Colorado, US. Two years later, he was studying a BA in Business Administration at Universidad del Pacifico, Peru's top management university. It is some contrast, and one that led to him landing the job with PwC. "I went to a job fair at my university and this was how I got in touch with PwC Peru," he explained. "After the fair, PwC called me to get on the recruitment process, through which I was selected to join their team."

 

Before studying at AGSM, Jose spent a year working in the Financial Planning division of Peru's biggest media corporation, Grupo El Comercio, across the press, television, radio and the Internet industries. His ambition to work in the tourism sector led him to study a six-month Graduate Certificate in Tourism Management at the University of Queensland, Australia, just before beginning his MBA.  

 

Now, Jose is ready for a marketing management job. He hopes to get into the tourism industry and work in companies such as Tourism Australia and Destination NSW. "I would like a marketing management job, hopefully in the tourism industry," he said. "In case I am not able to achieve such a job, I would like to work in the marketing division of an organization with ethical and environmental values, such as Patagonia, with which I am already aligned."

 

Although set on a career in Australia, Jose's motivation to work in tourism is so that he can bring the skills back to his home in Peru. "Tourism may serve as bridge between classes and different social realities, and is a way to open dialog," he said.

 

"My plan for the long term is to learn the best tourism marketing practices in order to share them in Peru.

 

"I want to contribute to the development of a national identity among Peruvians and inspire them to travel and give attention to remote places that are usually forgotten, even by the central government!

 

"Class and social distribution in my country is a complicated issue and wealthy Peruvians usually just stay in their comfort zone."

 

Jose also wants to create awareness for sustainability and the environment among Peruvians. "Peru ranks third among countries impacted by global warming and a greater importance must be placed upon the care of our natural resources," he said.

 

"I believe that tourism is also an important vehicle by which people can see and understand nature, and start to value it. I want to generate respect for the environment." 

 

Jose's is a remarkable journey, and one that is only just beginning. Whether he gets a working Visa stays in Australia or not, he says that AGSM is a great place for South American's to study. To find out more about why South American students should study in Australia, visit AGSM's personal consultation interviews webpage here.