How Upskilling Can Advance Your Career
While our parents may have kept the same job throughout their lifetime, today’s job market is increasingly diversified, meaning that upskilling can increase your career prospects. Constantly developing technology means that there are new jobs on offer which didn’t exist only a few years ago.
It may be that we stagnate in a single role after a few years and are looking for a change, or to challenge ourselves to reach the next rung on the career ladder. Regardless of where you are in your career, or where you see yourself in five years, upskilling through adult education can generate a host of benefits both in and outside your work life.
Challenge Yourself
Career plateau is as much about mindset as it is about the physical role. Whether you’re sick of your colleagues, the workplace culture or aren’t being valued for what you do, challenging yourself to learn more and increase your skillset will help you to be a more promising candidate for future opportunities, either within your organisation or elsewhere.
Adult education courses will capitalise on your existing drive to learn and improve, also refining your organisation, time management, and teamwork abilities. Plus, you’ll likely finish with a portfolio of examples to show your next employer what you can do.
Find a Mentor
Our bosses have a huge impact on how we act, feel, and think about work. If that relationship is anything less than supportive, then work life can become more of a drag than a passion.
Adult learning will connect you with a network of professionals, both in your personal tutors and your fellow students and even through events and get-togethers. Each of these relationships has the potential to spark that fire, to open up new opportunities, or to further your career learning.
Boost Your Value
It’s no secret that adult education can be a solid strategy to move up the salary chain because upskilling can increase your career prospects. The more transferable skills you have under your belt, the more value you can offer to an organisation.
Having both generic and more specialised skills means that employers have to outsource less frequently, can rely on you for more autonomous tasks, and can pass on your learning to others through training and partnerships. Once you’ve accrued your new set of skills, it’s essential to communicate your value and not settle for anything you’re less than satisfied with.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
Finally, recent adult education courses as part of your resume will demonstrate to new employers that you’re committed to staying abreast of how your industry is moving forward. Jobs today barely resemble those of twenty years ago, and on-the-job learning only goes so far.
Advancing your knowledge at reputable institutions ensures that you stay up to date with technology, best practice, and new research informing your industry. You’ll be able to bring new ideas as well as new and more efficient processes learned from your course and apply them in your workplace. There’s no doubt that upskilling can increase your career prospects.
Why Choose a Diploma Over Degrees
With so many adult education courses on offer, in virtually every field, it can be confronting selecting your next career move. It’s important to carefully consider the benefits of diploma courses.
This way you can make a decision that matches with your ambition, rather than just taking the route that is expected of you. If your goal is to enter a new role with good prospects, one which you’re good at and that makes you feel valued, then a college diploma may be better suited than a university degree.
Practical, Transferable Skills
In simple terms, there can be a significant gap between university study and gaining a job in the real world. Firstly, degrees centre largely around theory rather than practice, sometimes with a placement or practical subject tacked on the end in an attempt to bridge the gap. With little one-on-one tutoring, and instead focusing on lecture-style mass education, students are encouraged to focus on their own progress and little else.
When faced with the realities of working in a team-oriented workforce, the leap can be jarring. And finally, universities process far more students than there are jobs available for that level, resulting in graduates being dumbfounded when they find themselves with a scroll of paper but no connections, interviews, or leads.
Increased Flexibility
Student life can be extremely costly. With university fees deregulated, degrees can cost tens of thousands of dollars, take years to complete, and the full-time workload can mean that part-time work is compromised. By contrast, diplomas can often be studied on a flexible basis, or even online to fit around your working commitments, allowing you to make a more fluid career transition with a lower risk of a stint of unemployment.
Without those gaps in your resume, combined with the demonstrated desire to learn, can make diplomas a wise career move that you can discuss at your next interview. Without the rigid entry pre-requisites of degrees, diplomas offer students the opportunity to prove their potential. Added to that, you can often start at any point throughout the year, rather than hinging on a six-monthly round of offers.
Less Time Studying, More Time to Advance Your Career
The biggest benefit when you choose a diploma over degrees, particularly in later life, is that diplomas can be completed in a fraction of the time it takes to study a degree. With the pressures of a mortgage, rent, as well as not wanting life to pass you by, most students value the boost that diplomas can bring to their career with minimal time invested. Put simply, you can start earning more, earlier.
Put yourself in the best position to progress your skills, find a job you love and lay the foundations for fulfilling career when you choose a diploma over degrees. There are adult education opportunities for every level, skill set and industry available, ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn, grow, and succeed. Focus on the benefits of diploma courses and start planning your future today.
4 Benefits of Getting a Qualification
There’s no such thing as being too qualified, only overqualified for the job at hand—which means you’re ready for your next big career move. Improve your chances of obtaining your next dream role, or starting your career with a bang, by investing in adult learning to place you at the front of the pack.
Opening Your Mind Opens Doors
Whatever course you choose to take, there is one fundamental aspect that all adult education has in common: you will learn something new. In an age where almost anything is answered by a quick internet search, knowledge may not seem to have the power it once did.
But when it comes to your career, diversifying your knowledge areas, refining your skills in a niche, and becoming better at studying are all traits that will significantly improve with further adult learning.
Your study may snowball when you find that by studying one subject, you’ve opened your horizons to another career field, found a new passion, been able to meet new friends or even want to pursue further study. The world is your oyster with further education under your belt.
Empower Yourself
The benefits of diploma courses extend much further than your immediate future. Unlike high school, your further education is a choice that you make for yourself. It’s not compulsory, there are infinite pathways, and you can impact the how, what, when and how hard you study.
Rather than relying on teachers to set assignments, you have to learn to rely on yourself, which is in itself a defining moment. It fosters an ability to use initiative, to be autonomous, and to make decisions, all of which will stand you in good stead for life.
Solid Career Prospects
Of course, the driving force behind most student registrations is the promise of a fulfilling career. Generally speaking, the more adult education you undertake, the greater your possibilities will be. Even if you have no thoughts of leaving your current role, adult learning can propel you forwards, bringing fresh ideas and renewed energy to your career.
It may also be that down the track you want to make a shift and want to get a feel for a new industry and make some new contacts. Whatever your career trajectory looks like, adult education courses are a robust investment.
Increase Your Earning Potential
With increased investment in yourself comes increased potential worth to an organisation. By combining theory, practice and on-the-job knowledge, you’ll be the preferred candidate to take on top-level positions, mentor others, and manage a team.
Showing employers that you value yourself and your abilities by being committed to improving them demonstrates self-awareness, as well as a deeper understanding of how you could best work with a team and propel the organisation forward.
It also communicates that you’re willing to take on further training and development down the track, and so there’s no limit to how valuable you could truly be. The benefits of getting a qualification are immense, and it all starts with you making the decision to invest in yourself and in your future.