Give Your Career A New Year’s Boost With Cost-Effective Skills Training

Happy Holidays!

Whether you are employed or a job seeker, “Always Be Training” is more than advice. It may be the best thing you can do to for your career in today’s labor market.

According to a CNBC report this year, “Instead of emphasizing the need for specific titles and experience, organizations are shifting towards a focus on the skills that a potential employee may bring.” In the same report, Janelle Gale, Facebook’s Vice President of Human Resources, said, “We actually value skills over experience in the grand scheme of things.

That’s a pretty strong endorsement to always be training – especially when most roles do not require the technological prowess of your average Facebook employee. The advantages of continuous learning don’t stop there, and include:

1. Personal growth and development. No matter what tutorial, course, certification, or other form of continuing education you pursue, you can learn technical skills that are foundational to the profession of which you are a part, or transferable skills that are wanted by everyone everywhere.

2.  Advanced knowledge can only help you with job applications, ongoing work challenges, and future performance appraisals. This ties in with personal growth and development. Applying your new knowledge and skills to the endeavors noted above will better your overall position.

3.  Proficiency in certain systems or applications may be required or preferred for particular job roles. Great companies will institutionalize periodic training for its employees to maintain a competitive edge. If you work in such an environment you may be required to engage in such training programs, which can often be in your best long-term interests; or continuing education options may be offered, in which case you should always take advantage of them. In the absence of such a structure, it is incumbent on employees and job seekers to independently seek out additional training to maintain their competitive edge as well. If you are passive, you could fall behind and fade away.

4.  Job recruiters and hiring managers will take positive note of candidates who use their time to keep current on the technical skills needed in their profession. Sometimes it really is the effort that counts. Job candidates who demonstrate a tangible commitment to learning or keeping current with the appropriate skills can keep themselves in demand.

According to a recent LinkedIn article, the top five “in-demand” hard and soft skills of 2019 were:

Hard Skills:

1.     Cloud Computing

2.     Artificial Intelligence

3.     Analytical Reasoning

4.     People Management

5.     UX Design

Soft Skills:

1.     Creativity

2.     Persuasion

3.     Collaboration

4.     Adaptability

5.     Time Management

It follows that the type of person the most “in-demand” would possess all of these skills. Let’s focus on the top skill in each category – Cloud Computing and Creativity. Cloud Computing is a technical skill. Creativity is a transferable skill. Someone with the technical skill and creativity to adapt it to whatever public good or business purpose is involved would be a real stand-out, and both hard skills like Cloud Computing and soft skills like Creativity can be pursued as formal courses and/or certifications.

Take special note that soft “transferable” skills are extremely important, yet there is no universal way of measuring those skills and, while they may be instrumental to your job duties, are still probably not taught in any formal manner. Continuous training may be the only way to add new vital skills to your repertoire and prove you can walk the walk on your resume.

There are many ways to “Always Be Training.” And many of them won’t break the bank.

• Local resources like colleges/community colleges. If you live in an area with a major college/university or community college, many offer courses and diploma programs for adults and are an excellent resource for working professionals who want to pursue continuing education. For example, the 100-year-old UCLA Extension program is one of the oldest and largest providers of adult education. Research your local options.

• Specialty institutes. There are many professional organizations that specialize in a specific area and/or are certifying bodies in their particular field. For example, the Project Management Institute is the certifying body for Project Managers and develops the curriculum and exam for the universally recognized Project Manager Professional certification (PMP).

• Specialty certifications. There are many vendor neutral professional certifications that may be administered by a variety of accredited outlets, but are considered best in class standards for those that hold them. For example, the Information Technology Infrastructure Language (ITIL) certification signifies a person, or department, is educated in IT Service Management best practices.

• Online resources. Yes, we do live in the best of all possible worlds. So many choices!

• YouTube: Don’t knock You Tube until you try it. It has videos on how to do almost anything, including polishing your professional skills. For example, when I searched “Salesforce”, the wildly popular Customer Relationship Management application, not only does Salesforce the company have its own YouTube channel (by subscription), so many Salesforce related videos came up it was impossible to scroll through them all. YouTube is a great place to start.

• LinkedIn Learning – LinkedIn Learning (which incorporated online e-learning brand Lynda) has over 15,000 online courses with a focus on business. They offer a free trial for 1 month, after which it is a monthly all-access subscription for $19.99 a month.

• Udemy – An e-learning platform offering 130,000 courses in 60 languages to 40 million students. Priced per course starting at $12.99.

• Coursera – Coursera offers many courses and professional certifications from prestigious colleges, universities, and companies worldwide. Membership in Coursera is free and so are thousands of courses. For courses that cost money, prices start at $39.99. Pricing for advanced certification and online degree programs are commiserate with current market values. For example, an online degree program from Arizona State University will run you $15,000.

• Global Knowledge/ Axelos / Udacity – These are leading IT centric e-learning platforms that cover every major IT course or certification. Prices vary widely depending on topic/level/specialty.

• edX – FREE online courses from prestigious universities. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds. However, always read the fine print. The course may be free, but if you want a “verified certificate” (so you can prove you took/passed the course) it will cost you $50 and up.

• Futurelearn – e-learning site with course/certifications/degrees from top colleges and universities. They have a tiered pricing system. Free courses have restrictions. You can “upgrade” a free course to have access to it in perpetuity and get a “verified certificate”. You can pay $250 a year for unlimited courses. And like any online college/university degree programs, fees can reach into the thousands.

• Corporate Finance Institute – This financial e-learning company is for financial analysts who specialize in modeling and valuation. I know that sounds very narrow, but CFI is in the Top 10 of e-learning sites by volume of traffic.

Everywhere you turn on the electronic highway there is someone who wants to teach you something that will enhance your life and career. It has never been easier to “Always Be Training.” Take the plunge and you may just get hooked!

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.