Two years ago, HSC student India Hulbert was told that due to timetabling reasons at her school she would have to enrol in business studies in year 11.
She was good at maths but business studies required plenty of essays. Hulbert, 18, dreamt of a job in healthcare but the course was focused on corporate Australia. She planned to drop it as soon as she could.
Woolooware High School HSC student India Hulbert (front) with Chloe Neudegg (left) and Nina Qin.Credit: Steven Siewert
“It ended up being my best subject. And it’s definitely been my favourite subject throughout year 12,” the Woolooware High student said.
She is not alone in her love of the course – this year, 20,008 sat the exam on Tuesday morning, making it the biggest cohort of students in the HSC’s history.
It has overtaken biology and is second only to advanced English in terms of sheer numbers (English is compulsory in the HSC).
Throughout year 12, students learn the basics of business operations, marketing, finance and human resources.
Glen Jacob, head of the human society and its environment faculty at Woolooware High, said students chose the course because they relished the practical skills they would benefit from in their careers either running businesses or working in a business.
“It gives them a good understanding of how businesses are structured, how small businesses operate and how large corporations operate,” he said.
“[The course was designed with] this idea that they are future business leaders and we want them to have this idea about ethics and corporate social responsibility.”
He said this year there was plenty of chat in class about how the business world and jobs could be torpedoed by the rise of artificial intelligence, which has the power to reduce staff costs, improve efficiencies and boost productivity.
“You can present it in a depressing sort of way where robots and AI are going to take our jobs,” he said.
But he noted that while technology-induced redundancies might loom, technological change was nothing new.
“To think that when I did my HSC, the internet and mobile phones weren’t a thing. And to think in 30 years’ time, where are we going to be?”
In her exam, Hulbert wrote about the business decisions of Woolworths and Qantas, and liked the real-world applications of the course content. She also liked her teacher and her classmates, such as Chloe Neudegg, 18.
“I feel like it’s one of the only subjects that actually is relevant to life,” Neudegg said.
“At home I always can link something to business. I always just realise, ‘oh, like that stuff about the real world’.”
While Hulbert, Neudegg and classmate Nina Qin, 17, all enjoyed the subject, they do not intend to pursue a career in business after year 12, but believe the concepts covered will be useful.
Hulbert is thinking about becoming a speech pathologist while Neudegg is contemplating a career in event management.
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