Kapil Virmani
Kapil Virmani flew to Australia on a one-way ticket in 1995. He arrived in Perth at 11 o’clock at night with just two suitcases and $500 to his name, and not a single friend in the whole country.
Fifteen years later he’s a Westpac Bank manager in inner-city Adelaide, with a wealth of managerial experience in hospitality and banking and some great advice for other international students who make the move to Australia.
“I was 19 or 20 when I left my home in New Delhi. I was very young, alone and scared,” he says. “My father was an engineer and he could afford only my one-way ticket and $500. I am very thankful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to come to Australia. Without them it would not have happened.
“I knocked on the door of every restaurant I passed. I knew that for every 10 people who said ‘no’, one would say ‘yes’. I did cleaning, washed dishes and sold newspapers on the street at night. I never gave up, just worked hard to prove I was worth employing.”
Kapil’s scores were so good in his first year that he was offered a scholarship by TAFE in Western Australia to complete his Advanced Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism. The University of South Australia in Adelaide then invited him to study two degrees in two years: a Bachelor of Management, majoring in hospitality and tourism; and a second Bachelor of Management majoring in employment relations.
“That was 1998, and I’ve been in South Australia ever since,” he says. “When I first arrived in Adelaide I received lots of support. It’s a very relaxed environment and the people are really friendly.”
While Kapil studied at UniSA’s City West campus, he also worked part time in hospitality at the Radisson Playford hotel. It’s there that he met his wife Anita. When studies finished, he was offered a full-time role with the Majestic Hotels group, as a Hotel Manager with Majestic Oasis Apartments in the regional city of Port Augusta.
“I built the Oasis Apartments in Port Augusta from the ground up, working very hard to have the right people in the business and get the customers coming back – after one year we had 95 per cent occupancy and we won a state tourism award.
“Anita and I really enjoyed Port Augusta. Over three years we made a lot of friends and got to travel around the region, but when she became pregnant with our first child Sachin, we knew it was time to come back to Adelaide.”
Kapil also knew it was time for a career change, away from hospitality with its late hours and weekend work, and onto something more “family friendly”. When he knocked on Westpac’s door, they didn’t hesitate.
“I got a job as branch manager straight away,” he says. “I love the challenges, the people, the pressures and the autonomy. I can make my own decisions about waiving fees, offering better interest or lower home loans to help, reward and retain good customers.”
Under Westpac’s move from regional branches to local banks, Kapil won the role of Bank Manager, SA CBD – and was the only South Australian Manager to play a role in the bank’s national television advertising campaign.
At home, he’s busy too. He and Anita now have three children under five – all little Aussies with Indian, Italian and Greek heritage.
But he’s not too frantic to offer guidance and support to young Indian students who need a helping hand.
“I help them out with their résumés and answer their questions about how to find work. I tell them it’s all about how you position yourself – if you think like a visitor you’ll always be a visitor, as Australia is a multicultural country so you need to change your mindset. Australia is a beautiful country. It has been good to me and I’m very grateful to be here.”
“You must be the change you want to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi
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