Volunteer Youth Ambassador Alina explains how young people can explore upskilling as part of their early career journey – and why it’s a good idea to upskill early.
Why is upskilling important for young people?
Upskilling is a significant part of the current employment landscape as many young people are planning to progress into their first office-based career or are looking to upgrade within their industry pathway.
Employers are also looking for diverse skills and attributes within their sectors, highlighting the importance of learning various hard and soft skills as we recover from the economic and social effects of the pandemic.
The process of upscaling can be done by practising specific job-related tasks, taking additional divergent responsibilities, and studying for the role through courses and programmes online. This blog talks about the importance of upskilling and why it is needed.
Upskilling helps you change career pathways (because young people can change careers too…)
Top tip: got a (different) dream career in mind? Think which skills you’d want to learn to get ahead in that career…
Upskilling allows you to learn in-demand skills closely related to your sector. For example, if you are planning to change your career path, you will need to research which types of learning a specific sector or job role would require. This approach also requires you to look at the labour market in more detail to assess which skills are in most demand, and this tends to be tied with rapidly growing industries such as tech, media and finance. Taking part in online courses recommended by industry professionals can allow you to be more aware of your industry and stay ahead of the curve when applying for a specific role within the industry.
Upskilling helps you upgrade your current career path
Top tip: boost the skills you’ve got AND learn new ones
The importance of upskilling isn’t limited to changing your career pathways. It is also beneficial if you want to advance within your current path. Taking part in skills workshops and additional training programmes provided by your company or industry can be a great way to learn existing and diverse skills. This can provide a gateway towards career progression as you can advance with your chosen industry, especially looking for a more senior position or a similar role but with your responsibility, allowing for career progression in the near future.
Upskilling helps you get a better understanding of your current or future career
Top tip: skills workshops and online courses can help
Participating in skills workshops, online courses and training programmes can give you a better understanding of your role, especially within the operational side of the business. It also allows you to see the processes of why those particular duties of the role have been developed and understand how that role functions in more detail. This method, alongside your career experience, can provide you with both the theatrical and practical experience needed for your career.
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