Why Offering Professional Development Opportunities is Always a Smart Idea

Technology is changing the world we live in, almost faster than today’s workforce can keep up. According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs report, by 2020 most occupations will require core skills that weren’t considered crucial in the mid-2010s. There’s no way to safely predict which occupations will even still exist in the next decade — at least not in the way they exist today.

With a variety of industry disruptions anticipated in the very near future, employees continually need to learn new skills, and employers must regularly evaluate professional development offerings to ensure they remain relevant.

Professional development is especially important to engineering professions, helping to create engineers who are valuable employer assets. Katy Turff, head of professional standards at the Engineering Council (the regulatory body of the engineering profession in the UK), explains, “Professional development is a vital part of engineering careers. With technologies moving at a rapid rate, employers must ensure that their staff are kept up to date, but it is also the responsibility of the individual to keep learning and developing as the engineering world evolves.”

When nurtured effectively, an educated workforce will improve a company’s marketability, efficiency and profitability. Providing employees opportunities for growth ensures common levels of competency and skills among them. It also helps retain employees who are always looking to keep their skills relevant in a rapidly changing world, and reducing turnover is a great cost and time saver for employers.

What Does Professional Development Do For Your Organization?

• Increases the collective knowledge of your team: Training in relevant subjects and applications can have an immediate effect on productivity. Professional development also helps raise overall staff expertise.
• Boosts employee job satisfaction: The ability to do a job more effectively instills confidence, which leads to greater job satisfaction and improved employee retention.
• Makes your company more appealing: Employee training and development opportunities help you build a positive reputation as an employer that cares about its workforce and wants to work with only the best. It also helps attract the most highly-driven and career focused employment candidates.
• Creates a succession plan: Use your leadership development program as a tool for grooming future leaders for your company.

Finding the Right Employee Training Options

Engineering covers a multitude of disciplines and professions, and many engineers need to earn CEUs/PDHs to maintain their licenses. Partnering with an organization like IEEE allows you to easily offer relevant training to help your employees stay ahead in their field. Learn more about the IEEE Certificate Program and explore the courses available to see which programs would be right for your employees and your organization.

Resources

Russell, Jeffrey S. (25 May 2018). Lifelong Learning Will Prepare Students For Jobs That Don’t Yet Exist. The Evolllution.

(23 February 2017). Professional Development Training: A Win for the Entire Team. Robert Half.

Parker, Kate. (7 Oct 2016). Professional development for engineers: expand your mind. Engineering and Technology.