Why retraining should be top of your New Year’s resolutions
March 1, 2009 advice, Finance, Internet, money, Taxes, Technology
Along with losing weight, joining a gym and giving up smoking, finding a better job or retraining for a new career are the commonest New Year resolutions that people make. Unlike the gym membership promise, retraining and developing your career skills are resolutions that you can keep and could make a big difference in your professional life.
Manufacturing and heavy industries are being superseded by IT and technology based business. IT is one of the fastest growth industries in the country, and there is still a big gap between the number of jobs available and the number of skilled, fully trained candidates to fill those positions. The estimate is that over 150,000 new IT and technology posts are created each year, all of which have good starting salaries and ongoing career prospects. Even in the middle of an economic downturn there are plenty of opportunities available for those willing to take their careers down a new path.
Retraining shouldn’t be thought of as a chore. It should be considered as an essential part of your career and a way of challenging yourself to achieve new levels of ability in a market that demands growth. If you are thinking about retraining, consider what your strengths are and how you could develop these into marketable skills. The key phrase here is ‘transferable skills’. Retraining does not necessarily mean starting afresh and taking a completely different direction. It is more likely to mean the development of existing skills, which is a lot less intimidating than the thought of retraining in a completely new area. The fear of having to ‘go back to school’ is the major stumbling block that many people cite when asked about retraining, but with new teaching techniques and more user-friendly approaches to retraining, it is a fear that can be easily overcome.
Retraining can be done at your own pace whilst still maintaining your current job, so financial concerns and the worry that retraining means months without an income are put to rest. The Government has emphasised the importance of ongoing IT training with their ‘Earn while you Learn’ campaigns and there are plenty of schemes available that can help with costs and course fees for those wishing to retrain, particularly in technology and IT based professions. As British business continues to upgrade to be able to compete in a global market, more positions for technicians and consultants to operate and maintain new systems are being created. Retraining could mean that you could take advantage of this upgrade of UK PLC with a new career and a new direction.
If you feel that your job has become stale or repetitive, a good way to retrain might be to talk to your employer about career development. By showing that you are willing to retrain in other areas you are also confirming your worth to the company as an employee who is willing to help the business grow by developing their own skills. Again, the Government is encouraging business owners to consolidate their companies by investing in employee training, so the suggestion may well be met with enthusiastic approval.
A New Year really can mean a new start, so retraining is a resolution that you can make in the knowledge that you can only benefit from the time and commitment it involves. It’s also a much wiser financial investment than a gym membership!
