The Importance of Building Skills

Everything about our working life is changing faster than we could have ever imagined.  For those that have chosen to take the path of a career-driven life, the pandemic is a reminder that our work is rapidly changing, and we must prepare for the challenges and changes that lie ahead.

When was the last time, you put aside time for reflection and evaluating your own growth and development?

It is common knowledge that competition in the workforce is very high and fast-paced, as an employee, you might feel overwhelmed and even feel stagnant with your status and current abilities. This is where engaging in building your skills and getting additional certifications is essential!

How investing in yourself today will set you up for career success tomorrow highlights that now is the time employers should be investing in upskilling and reskilling their teams, the pandemic has had an adverse effect on economies around the globe, unemployment and termination of contracts is at an all-time high and therefore the urgency for employers to have a multiskilled workforce is a wakeup call for many employees who were comfortable in post and missing essential skills.

In the education industry today most professionals are encouraged, if not required, to attend (CPD) training, to allow them the time to build skills and enhance knowledge. These professional development courses are a opportunity to invest in your learning, build confidence and upskill - Grab the opportunity with both hands!

Six approaches to Closing the skills gap reports internationally— there are still too few systematic initiatives for future skills further training, the report analyses 30 current initiatives in Germany dealing with future skills, one of the key points made in reaching the conclusion of the study is enabling future skills training for all employees.  My advice for those seeking to build future ready skills “Is invest time in your own learning”.

Investing in your future?

Time allocated to Investing in yourself is never a wasted investment, employees should always be encouraged to continuously develop. Nevertheless, as a professional you should always allow yourself to grow and engage in developing new skills.

As discussed by Darren Shimkus there are imperative ways why investing in your continuous development, will help you have a better future.

Let’s take a closer look at the few;

1. Develop a growth mindset. It’s good to acknowledge your strength and what you can do, but in order to stay relevant, it is not enough to stay the same without actually growing into your career. Generally, developing a growth mindset allows you to see yourself as someone who has all the potentials to become much more of who you are today. Understanding that failure and risk come hand in hand in the path of development is a must to continually succeed in the future that lies ahead.

2. Reflect on what you’ve done so far and set goals for where you want to be. It might sound simple, but it actually isn’t — but it’s definitely not impossible. You have to keep a definite view of what you enjoy the most, what is it that you are good at, find that part of your job that you believe you excel the most or love to work on and let it guide you to what your future career decisions may be.

3. Prioritise Learning. There are a lot of ways to continuously improve your skills to become more employable in your career path. Enrol yourself in courses or you could also share your knowledge with those who need support (Mentorship)- this way you re-learn what you know,  while essentially retaining and receiving new knowledge.