Thinking About Career Development in 2010?

2010 is an auspicious year, in fact, some would say the next 3 years to 2012 are brim full of potential! While I certainly like to believe in the positive energy abounding in the universe, I also like to ground my thinking and positivity in practicality. For example, we know that Australia has weathered the GFC so well that the economy continues to grow with house prices rising and unemployment at low levels. All the economic indicators for the Australian economy are currently positive and business confidence is increasing as is job security and choice. In fact in the week before Christmas I spoke to a number of people changing jobs over the break or in the New Year who were seeking to up-skill and/or update their qualifications accordingly.

In this more buoyant atmosphere it makes sense to review your career aspirations and to take actions towards achieving your career goals. If you are thinking of changing jobs or even careers, it can be valuable to add necessary or desired qualifications to your CV before you change jobs.

 If you are already experienced in the job you currently perform then one way to achieve a relevant qualification is to have the knowledge and skills you have gained in your job formally recognised.  This method of gaining a qualification through current job recognition is frequently overlooked and I often have individuals enquiring about a program of study to achieve a qualification for either a new job or another job as a result of retrenchment even when their last or previous job required use of the same knowledge and skills sets as the program of study they are now enquiring about! Unfortunately and all too often these people have left the job and so are no longer able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for the qualification.

Now, in early January is a good time to reflect and act on achieving qualifications. If you are currently working in a professional job role you should consider enrolling in a program and applying for recognition (Recognition of Prior Learning – RPL) and then just studying for the ‘gaps’ in your own learning rather than spending valuable time off the job studying for an entire qualification.   If you are thinking of changing jobs then you should act quickly to achieve recognition before you leave the job.

The College for Adult Learning offers recognition as RPL in a range of qualifications in business & management, HRM and project management.