How can learning help beyond the classroom?

School, studying, university, exams, isn’t that one great benefit of being in paid employment, you no longer need to have your head in the books morning, noon and night?  You have qualifications and you’ve got a job so your days of lectures, reading and learning new stuff should be well and truly behind you.  Or should they?

Do we, or should we ever stop learning?

Both modern-day life and the business world are changing at an ever-increasing pace.  The skills and know-how that got us to one stage of our careers can therefore soon become obsolete, so how do we get to where we want to go next?  Continuing our learning allows us to keep up with the technological, digital, process and trend changes happening both in the world around us and in our organisations, whilst also helping us to develop new skills and attributes that will enable us to advance our careers.

Continual learning can similarly help us to achieve our career goals.  It can help us to develop the skills we need to get to the next level, or indeed to identify a skills gap that’s preventing us from getting there.  Such learnings also increase our satisfaction levels, with our jobs and in turn our personal lives, leading to better results and increased fulfilment in both.

Hand-in-hand with increased satisfaction from learning comes higher levels of confidence and self-esteem as we feel more knowledgeable, credible, positive and have an awareness of the additional value we add.  Feeling more confident also makes us less risk-averse, more positive in the face of change or challenge and more motivated.  After all, what’s better than being excited, curious and energised by what you do, feeling that you’re good at it and discovering new knowledge and skills you didn’t know you had?

It can even lead to an increase in salary.  Showing you are keen to learn and develop is attractive to employers so showcasing your learned achievements, particularly at appraisal time, could lead to a promotion or a salary increase.  The more skills you have also keeps you ahead of the competition which reinforces your value and expertise.  So, if your company offers you training and learning opportunities, grab them with both hands and make time to attend.

I want to continue my learning, but I’m in-between jobs and can’t afford it…

If you want to continue your learning, train or re-train to increase your opportunities but you’re in between jobs, struggling to find work or think you might have a skills gap then financing such training without an organisation to help you can be a significant obstacle.  However, with our industry developing at such a rapid pace, particularly in terms of the online and digital arena, additional training is likely a must if you want to enhance your chances of finding a new role.  If this is true for you then you may be pleased to learn (see, more learning) that this is something NABS can help you with, thanks to our NABS Upskilling Grants.

NABS Upskilling Grants

NABS Upskilling Grants are aimed at retraining, refreshing and retaining our industry’s workforce.  If you have spent the majority of your career in advertising and media, have identified a skills gap or are a parent looking to get back into the industry and you’ve had at least one session with a NABS Career Coach then a NABS Upskilling Grant could be for you.  With courses available from coding to copywriting and web design to a one-day MBA you can increase not only your skills base but also your confidence, self-belief in your abilities and your chances of becoming an even more suitable candidate for your next role.

To find out more about NABS Upskilling Grants call 0207 290 7070 or email nabs@nabs.org.uk now to book in for your initial career coaching session.