Alumni and Employer of Choice in Profile – Fred Nucara, Managing Director of Aston Commercial

An Interview with Fred Nucara, alumni, Employer of Choice and long-standing supporter of our students providing the Aston Commercial Nucara Family Scholarship for many years now.

What is your name?
Fred Nucara

Which Program did you study?
Completed HSC equivalent to VCE today in 1986. The exam score assessment
satisfied the necessary tertiary entry into the Bachelor of Business (Property) at
RMIT. Also, enrolled to complete the Certificate of Real Estate via REIV
correspondence program. RMIT was the only university that offered the course
at the time.

What year did you graduate?
1990 with honours and received my Qualified Valuers Registration with the API
in 1992.

Where did you go with your career from there?
1988-1993 Received a scholarship and Internship with national real estate
business Baillieu Knight Frank (now Knight Frank) in the valuations department.
1994 Travelled overseas backpacking
1995-1999 Opportunity to work back at previous firm in the Investment Sales
area.
2000-2007 Moved to a mid-tier real estate business to build their Agency
Division and service existing clientele.
2007-now Started Beller Commercial from a property management rent roll
of 54 tenancies to evolving into Aston Commercial today where we manage over
1500 tenancies and represent close to 1000 commercial property owners.

Were you working in the industry during your studies?
Yes, as part of the BKF Scholarship Internship from 1988.
Also did some part time hospitality and factory work if in need of some extra
cash.

What were the best parts of your degree and study experience?
Being from country Victoria, I enjoyed the new relationships formed with other
students and to this day still having those connections. RMIT was the only
tertiary school that offered the course. The course was highly
technical/theoretical in the first 18 months and then the practical application of
what was taught made everything “logical”. The valuation tours of rural and city
properties for valuations provided even more practical applications of our
lessons.

What challenges did you face relocating from a regional area?
I was very fortunate to have an older sister and brother as initial support
allowing me to settle into city life. There was still a strong link to my hometown
(Cobram) from friends, family and sporting clubs. There was always an 18th or
21st birthday celebration in subsequent years that I was invited to post moving
to Melbourne.
The challenges revolved around travel logistics (both car and public transport)
around Melbourne and establishing new personal connections at RMIT. Shortly
after relocating I moved in with my older brother where the greatest challenge
was cooking meals and getting into a domestic “survival” groove. I also realised
the importance of budgeting and valuing where to spend money – is it a need or
a want? I was not a shy person and would often kickstart conversations with
fellow students at RMIT which was the catalyst for ongoing relationships. There
are many ex-students that I still have solid business relationships with and 3 exstudents that I have strong personal relationship with 30 years on.

Tell us a bit about how you have stayed in contact and given back to RMIT
PCPM over the years…
I think we all have a life journey that is unique to each of us – however, we often
forget to acknowledge that journey and upon reflection, it is important to
comprehend how special our own journey is in the past and today. When you
start to share the journey, I realised that there was an opportunity to “give-back”
no matter how small. Due to my journey I felt compelled to start the Nucara
Family-Aston Commercial Scholarship some 15 years ago to predominantly
assist those property course students who are from regional Victoria and looking
to relocate to Melbourne.
Apart from former student connections, I have also had some former RMIT
Lecturers connect with me at a business level post-graduation.

What advice would you give to current students in regards to their study?
Absorb as much information as possible and expect that you will not fully
comprehend what you are being taught or the practical career relevance. Ask
questions and be curious. Be open to learning and be ruthless with your time.
Sometimes it may take you 2 hours study for a subject and other times it is 8
hours for an assignment – accept that is the case and what is required to
successful complete the course. Nothing beats trying to apply the theory with
practical commercial application – that’s when the “a-ha” moments’ occur.
What advice would you give to current students and graduates about their
career?
Hard work beats Talent, when Talent fails to work Hard.

What is your experience as an Employer, Employing RMIT PCPM Students?
As I have personally experienced the student journey, I respect that it is partly
up to the Aston Commercial Team to enrich the experience as the student
transitions into their career. Similarly, it is up to the student to demonstrate an
enthusiasm and willingness to learn and evolve into a professional within their
industry.
The employer-employee is a journey of learning for both, particularly today
where technology can offer some positive efficiencies within a business.
The diversity of students (in both personality and educational acumen) has also
been enriching for our business.

What advice would you give student in regards to applying for scholarships
and job opportunities in industry?
Whilst there are templated applications, I think that apart from their current
educational performance, it is important to provide insights into their individual
journey in various areas such as personal life, sport, hobbies, education, general
achievements and community work.
A student should feel comfortable divulging what makes them who they are
today and their view about what the future could look like for them. It is a sense
of connection and enthusiasm that we want to see surface with students who
are applying for a job opportunity with us. The investment of time is two-fold –
the employer upskilling the student and the student devoting time to grow and
add-value to the business.

Anything else you would like to share?
Today we are in an environment of accepting diversity at all levels. The message
to a student who is transitioning into a career, is that today there is a blurring of
personal-business environment. Accept that there will be anxious/pressure
times and there will be accolades/fun times. The challenge is to reset every day
to be the best version of the ‘professional you’ and the best version of the
‘personal you’…and that requires constant daily gratitude, empathy and
mindfulness.
Easier said than done, however, if you apply daily, you will have a more fulfilling
life journey.
Take responsibility to make it happen whilst acknowledging the amazing journey
so far and write your own story…