Professional development is individuals’ learning and training to enhance their career prospects. It may include obtaining new skills and knowledge, attending industry conferences, and taking online courses.
It can also help people stay competitive and position themselves for promotions or salary increases. Here are the top reasons to take professional development seriously.
Increase Your Confidence
Professional development lets you stay current, whether an employee or a business owner. In an era of job-hopping, companies that invest in their employees’ careers attract and retain talent.
Professional development can help you hone hard and soft career skills. Soft skills include interpersonal communication, while hard skills refer to job-related knowledge.
For example, learning a new skill, such as project management strategies, can help you feel more confident managing a team. This confidence can positively impact your job performance and overall career satisfaction. It can also improve your odds of getting a promotion at your current company or finding a new one. In turn, this can lead to higher salary potential.
Build New Skills
Many professionals voluntarily pursue professional development opportunities to build new skills. To achieve this, one only needs to enroll in a few college courses relevant to their field or obtain certificates from specialized educational programs.
These new skills will help them advance in their current roles or become better candidates for positions at other organizations. Additionally, this type of learning can increase job satisfaction as employees feel that their efforts are being recognized and appreciated.
When employee loyalty is low, and the average job tenure is three years, focusing on career growth and learning could be one way to boost company morale. For example, employers may consider offering tuition reimbursement, covering costs for industry certifications, or providing access to online training modules.
Boost Your Earning Potential
Whether in your first job or near the top of your industry, professional development helps you stay relevant. Continuing education and training courses can help you build the skills to advance your career or even change fields.
A recent survey found that job seeker prioritize growth opportunities over compensation and vacation days when applying to employers. The first reason people quit their jobs is the lack of career advancement.
Offering various professional development programs can keep your employees engaged with their jobs, which leads to higher productivity. It also helps to reduce turnover. Especially among younger workers, who are more likely to job hop if they feel stuck in their current roles, providing the right professional development opportunities can reduce their likelihood of jumping ship for another company.
Networking
Professional development is a great way to network with fellow professionals. At several conferences, workshops, and training programs, you can network with professionals in your industry and individuals whose job titles are one, two, or three levels higher than yours.
These new connections can help you with networking and finding a new job. They may also serve as mentors who can provide you with valuable advice, guidance, and feedback. This can be especially true if you work as an employee in a field undergoing rapid change, such as social media marketing, where new best practices and trends are continuously being developed. Keeping up with these changes and skills is critical to your career success. Recent surveys show that employees increasingly consider career growth opportunities as crucial as benefits like health insurance and plans.
Boost Your Credibility
Professional development can help you establish trust and authority whether you’re trying to move up the corporate ladder or change careers. Attending industry events and participating in workshops will allow you to learn from others and gain new perspectives. This can increase your knowledge of best practices and position you as an expert.
Achieving a professional credential through training also helps boost your earning potential and makes you more attractive to employers. Young and experienced professionals alike value these opportunities as a way to improve their career prospects.
More and more candidates are weighing professional development opportunities as heavily as other benefits like health insurance. Businesses must consider this and offer these opportunities to candidates, as it can make a big difference in hiring and retention rates.