Accomplished mining principal, qualified lawyer and mother Sarah Bailey seems to have achieved the impossible. Over eight years she completed a law degree part-time through the University of New England, had three children (now 9, 5 and 2.5 years) and carved out a successful career with BHP.
It required great determination, impeccable time management and extraordinary support from her husband Leigh, but also two other ingredients - flexible course delivery, and employer generosity.
"I could never have attended classes at UNE, even residential schools; having flexibility in how and when I learnt enabled me to hold down senior positions, study and manage the needs of my family," says Sarah, who lives in the NSW Hunter Valley. "I would listen to lectures and podcasts on my daily commute, and only visited UNE once, to graduate in 2018. It was a proud day becoming the first person in my family to achieve a tertiary qualification."
When Sarah began working at BHP, in 2011, the company recognised the substantial value of a law degree to her role as an approvals manager for one of its mining operations. It offered part-time and then flexible full-time hours, with one day a week working from home, and agreed to foot the bill of Sarah's degree.
"It wasn't just the financial support; BHP also gave me study leave for exams and time in lieu or flexible work hours to complete assignments," Sarah says. "Every time I completed a subject, my managers congratulated and encouraged me; I am extremely grateful for that acknowledgement, too."
The relevance of the law degree to Sarah's daily work became immediately apparent. "We work in a heavily regulated industry, with lots of environmental obligations, state and federal," says Sarah, who is now NSW Principal, Approvals and Land Access with BHP. "The more I studied, the better I became at my job. I could practically apply almost every subject I did - from contract law to Indigenous law - as I was learning it."
"However, the biggest awakening was my very first subject - law in context. It completely changed the way I approached everything at work; the way I looked at things, interrogated things and considered possible alternatives."
A BHP spokesperson said the company's investment in Sarah has been repaid ten-fold. "It's not just at the end of a degree that an employer benefits from an employee's study. Students are acquiring knowledge throughout their studies, so having Sarah complete her law degree and applying what she was learning at work at the same time has been fantastic for both her and us."
The mutual trust and loyalty that has developed between Sarah and her employer has seen her become a valued member of the company's Inclusion and Diversity Committee. As well as promoting tolerance and inclusion of all staff, the committee is tasked with advocating for flexible work practices that support study and health work-life balances, for women and men.
Sarah firmly believes that flexible work is the way of the future. "Most of my meetings are video-conferences now and I work largely from home. I am available to my family, if needed, and if that means I log on after hours to get the job done, then I do. It works well. Businesses have to be flexible to be competitive, just like universities."
