We all know the world of work is changing.
Industry 4.0, casualisation of jobs, automation and artificial intelligence – a world where machines carry out tasks human once were able to do.
How can you remain career relevant in this changing environment? The skills, knowledge and qualifications you started your career with are going to need to change along the way if you want to stay with this journey. Considering your career can endure for more than 50 years, wouldn’t you like to be engaged in meaningful work and be at the forefront of the changes instead of your skills becoming obsolete?
Too often, we are holding on to false realities when it comes to our career. While our initial qualifications and degrees are important, those skills and actions that worked well in the past should be analysed and updated continually.
Our work environment or career is like a stream which is continually flowing in a fast forward motion. If we stand still in the stream, it will pull us over, just like it is with our career… When the stream of work that we are currently in, dries up, we need to be prepared to take the next stream. We cannot do this without preparation that starts well before the stream starts to run dry. Successful careers, therefore, are characterised by people who embrace a proactive approach to managing their streams through lifelong learning.
So how can we ensure we are continually learning? Taking responsibility for our career is the first step which involves learning new skills. As a guideline, the model of learning proposed by Lombardo and Eichinger (1996) suggests identifying a range of learning activities that individuals can instigate themselves as follows:
70% of learning from activities on-the-job and action learning which might include managing a project, offering to undertake a new task, trying out a new job, observing another employee in a work shadowing situation.
20% of learning from developmental relationships such as having a mentor or being a mentor, networking in communities of practice.
10% of learning from formal training, online courses, conferences or webinars.
Thinking about these activities, have you undertaken any of these this year? What did you learn, and have you documented your learning in a journal and updated your CV or resume?
Get started on making a plan to develop your skills further and increase the number of streams you have in your repertoire, stop procrastinating or looking for the perfect learning opportunity. Action enables you to be seen; motivation follows your actions, action gives you a purpose and action creates confidence. When your current stream starts to dry up, you will be prepared to move to the next opportunity. These words of wisdom summarise the need to keep your skills updated –
The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it, Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924)
Until next time, consider your learning opportunities.
Dr Janene Piip
Talent consultant and career practitioner
Australia
www.janenepiip.com.au
janenepiip@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-janene-piip-0906641a/
Reference
Lombardo, Michael M; Eichinger, Robert W (1996). The Career Architect Development Planner (1st ed.). Lominger, Minneapolis.
