Many people will tell you that it’s not what you know, but who you know. Well, in fact, we believe it’s actually a mixture of the two!

What would you say if we said that by upskilling your skills and enhancing your professional capabilities you can actually help with both!

New Year is always a topical time for training and development, not only is training a commercially sound investment for an employer, but also as an employee, be it a junior office worker or someone in a more senior led role, training and development can dramatically enhance your work balance, from increased productivity right through to better staff management and strategic planning.

The importance of upskilling goes far beyond just encouraging more productive work environments – as training providers, the ROI and benefits of training is obvious to us, but with the topical news of skills gaps and uncertainty of the economy high on company meeting agendas – there’s really never been a more important time to invest in your talent!

So here are our top 10 insights on why upskilling is vital for your career:

1. The job market is precarious at best right now, so investing in yourself is a sure fire way to protect yourself and excel in your future aspirations. Employers love someone who sees value in continued personal and professional development so the fact that you have continued to develop yourself will mean a higher chance of getting that next winning role/ or climbing the career ladder!

2. Increased job security. Employers today expect a certain level of flexibility within a role; no job role stays the same forever, so it’s important, particularly for smaller employers that they have staff who can be useful across different areas of the business. The more skills and qualifications you have, the better placed you will be when it comes to career progression or moving on to bigger and better things.

3. Roles are becoming more multi-disciplined with innovation – take digital for a great example; digital was initially focused around web-technology, it now integrates a host of specialist skills such as SEO, Social and Email campaigns – to stay up to date, particularly in fast paced environments you must also adapt quickly, and developing new skills is most effective in training, such as the new Digital Skills Diploma launched recently, which has been a really popular subject.

4. Balance and Happiness. When an individual invests in themselves, it echoes throughout their personality impacting work and home life. This personal value leads to increased job satisfaction and a much greater feeling of being valued at work.

5. Opportunity to grow. We’ve covered career aspirations and the impact that training and development has on your career, but on a personal level it helps too. Once you start building your skills and knowledge, the sky’s the limit, which often leads to further development and therefore further growth.

6. Improved communication. Can training really result in better communication? The answer is yes. With external improvement also come periphery skills such as enhanced communication, enriched leadership abilities and improved attitude.

7. The ‘bigger picture’ – with enhanced skills comes a more robust understanding of the commercial context too. Business context is critical in supporting the ‘business’ which means that ultimately you developing your skills directly impacts on the profitability of the company too.

8. Reduces the gap between management and YOU. Training and development not only takes your skills higher, but they also improve relationships with management. An increased learning mind-set also opens the engagement between management and bottom-line results, which makes for a more diverse workforce.

9. Lead from the front. Investing in your own skills is not only great for you, but those under you too. By increasing skills you are proving to others that anything is achievable and that developing yourself leads to a rewarding career. Plus, you will be a peer they can look up to and in turn, you will develop their skills too.

10. It’s all about the money! Ultimately an individual who spends time upskilling their capabilities and attending training is proven to earn more and receive more financially led benefits than those that don’t.

Upskilling can be as little as committing to just a few hours to training, resulting in all of the above benefits, and whether you choose to learn online or attend a course local to you, you’ll be giving yourself the best shot at the best career you can have.

Here at Professional Academy, we’ve been delivering personalised training sessions to individuals and companies for over 14 years, and are well-known as one of the world’s leading providers of certified training through the likes of DMI, CIM, ISMM and CMI – helping you, and your business gain the skills required to progress your career.

Chartered Management Institute (CMI) chief executive Ann Francke argued that the UK needs a collective agreement among leaders that they will regularly invest and encourage personal development at all levels “By championing greater development of skills and greater transparency in people reporting, we could foster much-needed long-termism.”

Training and upskilling can be delivered via bespoke courses, customised to the business or even completed online via our innovative learning management system available – whether you are looking for professional qualifications, increased skills or a refresh course, we can help.

For more information and tips on how you can develop the future you, today, visit our website at www.professionalacademy.co.uk.