Back to School, Back to School!

Ahhh, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and the crisp sheets of a spiral ring notebook. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apples. New shoes and clothes to show off, and a haircut that is bound to impress. Sound familiar? That’s right, it is back to school time, but continuing our education doesn’t and shouldn’t just apply to kids. As professional individuals, there is always room to learn and grow to expand our knowledge base and skill set, and that is something we should all strive for.

Many of us join the workforce with an education or a degree and some amount of work experience under our belts. While we fully intend to apply that knowledge to our jobs, so much of what we do on a day-to-day basis is learned through hands on experience. Much like learning a new language, immersion is often the best way to learn and in this case, involvement and engagement in the new task or role, and then the practical application of those skills, is one of the most effective ways to ensure the knowledge sticks.

This month, we will delve deeper into continuing education in the workplace, including:

• The Benefits of Continuing Education – Understand how continuing education can benefit both your employees at an individual level and your organization as a whole. Determine if these benefits are something that would be advantageous to you and your company, and why implementing a program would be a valuable move.
• The Methods of Continuing Education – Continuing education isn’t simply attending courses at a local community college. Learn the different methods and ways continuing education can be pursued and applied.
• How to Implement Continuing Education – Once a method has been selected, how do you implement a continuing education program within your organization? Who needs to be involved and what steps need to be taken to ensure success for all parties involved?

Many of us want more from our professions than the regular grind of the 8 to 5 schedule. It is so easy to get stuck in a rut, to get stagnant and unmotivated from time-to-time, and to need something to motivate us to strive for more and want to do better. Next week, we will discuss how investing in your employees can help prevent all of that, and how everyone can reap the benefits of keeping the continuing education bus moving forward.