esblbecurious

Shifts in economies, business, and societies are happening at warp speed nowadays and the naturally resilient young adult is failing to ´see the funny side´, and, in many cases, also failing to ‘keep-up’.  Those students who are unsuccesful in launching their careers upon graduation, may never work in their chosen area.  And, how long does it take for your newly-minted academic skills to become old and outdated?  Continuing education today takes on an entirely new importance.

In the 1990´s we admonished our students to be aware that working professionals needed to be enrolled in at least 1 work-related course per year, just to stay level with the changes in their profession; and more than one-a-year if they were looking to advance in their field.  Into the second decade of this new century and Continuing Education might be rebranded and called Continuous Education.  Those of you who fail to see the importance of it, may be doomed because of your lack of it.

Knowing this, you might think that there is a huge proliferation of ´night schools´ full of work-weary young managers and executives, but you would be wrong.  In many countries the graduate still acts as though, once finished, they are set academically for life.  This may have been the case 40 or 50 years ago when slow, static communication systems and snail-speed information searches were the norms, but this is no longer the case.  Change is exponential.  When the competition finds a better, more productive, more efficient way to satisfy the customer or corner the market, everyone else goes back to zero, and we better understand and apply the new methods; and fast.

Continuous Education facilities are there to research the constantly changing systems and teach them to you.  It is another type of information highway and must be regarded as such.  Some of us can sign-on to an online class and be able to learn and apply new techniques, but bricks-and-mortar schools offer the opportunity to learn these new methods from a subject matter expert who has applied the changes, and knows the associated advantages and difficulties.

Isn´t it bad enough that the new graduate may have to leave their country of birth, sometimes unwillingly, to find that elusive position.  What are the effects of this ´brain drain´on the country, and on its future?  The field of applicants is growing while the number of positions is shrinking.  As a result, the bar is set ever-higher and the educational requirements are steadily rising, even if normally that level of education would not be required to function successfully in the role.  It the 1990´s it was becoming difficult to get a job without a high school diploma, and we saw many returning to get their GED´s.  By the year 2000, even a factory position in a state-of-the-art facility with robotics and sophisticated transfer systems required some post-secondary education.  By 2010, a general BA was not enough to get your foot in the door, and  a master’s degree was the basis for consideration into an entry-level department management position.  I have heard from some friends in NA, that students now wanting to get the edge on the competition, are signing-up for PhD programs to develop a real expertise and impress the companies.

Continuous Education providers enable you to upgrade your skills; sharpen them to stay current, but also now offer degree pathways for part-time study aimed at the motivated and ambitious worker who cannot afford to give-up their job in this dicy economy for financial or other personal or family reasons.

Visit your preferred education provider and ask them about their School of Continuing Education and look at their course offerings.  But, a caveat, be prepared to make other changes as well in your job search preferences, if you want to actively manage and prosper in your career.  I am speaking of course about the dynamic, flatter organizational structures.  Moving up in the organizational hierarchy might mean moving out of the company.

• Think about choosing education that is required in today’s world to get your career started.
• Think about how long it actually should and might take you to return the investment on your education.  It isn’t the amount of money you spend on your advanced studies that make them valuable.  It is the currency of the information and skill transference that sets one apart from the others.  Expensive degrees become stale just as quickly as less expensive ones. 
• Think about the drain on present and future human resources when countries and their leadership cannot effectively manage the economy and job growth.
• Think about the best way to manage your career advancement.