Education and Long-Term Employability

Answer 1

Being gainfully, happily and successfully employed doesn’t mean education no longer applies to you and your future prospects. In fact, it means just the opposite—if you’re happy with your job and where you work, you want to be sure you can continue there. That means, in addition to performing well at work, you need to increase your skills, knowledge and abilities. If you’re not happy with your current career or occupation, education is one way to improve your chances of a different position, or even an entirely new occupation. Education can increase your value to your employer and colleagues, provide new skills and greater longevity in terms of long term employment, as well as being an asset in terms of promotion and pay.

Consider taking a skills inventory, to discover the skills you have and those you might want to acquire. A skill inventory helps you discover the skills you have, how you use them in work, skills you have that could be useful if your employers or supervisors knew, and skills you might want to gain in terms of your employment now and in the future. You can find examples of skills inventories here and here.

What skills and training would help you at work? Perhaps brushing up on your computer skills, or taking some extra math or accounting courses, or learning to create Web pages would be an asset in your job. You might want to take classes in writing or a second language, to help you with customers or clients. Perhaps some additional training in drafting, or metalworking, or heavy machinery. These, and many many more, are all skills, and courses, you can improve via taking classes at your local community college or, in many cases, via distance learning programs or online instruction. Moreover, many employers will help fund instruction, even outside of a degree program, if you obtain approval in advance. In any case, a little more learning is never a bad idea.