A few decades ago, a person would join the workforce at a young age and stay in the same job for years – or even life. Today, people change jobs and careers more frequently, leading to more instability in the long term.
We have more opportunities now, and it’s no longer enough to earn a living – because people want more from their work. It is more important than ever to have a clear and concise career path development plan.
Career path development is the process of creating a roadmap for your professional life, including anything from short-term goals to long-term dreams. This post will look at why it’s important for all workers.
What Is Career Path Development?
As we mentioned above, career path development creates a plan for your professional life. This includes setting goals and how to achieve them, including each step along the way.
Individuals might have their own career path plan, while employers will have a plan in place to ensure talented workers have the opportunity to progress.
For example, a person working in retail might want to become a manager. They could achieve this by doing a course and working hard to improve their skills, while the company could support them through on-site study and internal hiring policies.
Career path development is key to a happy workforce with purpose, which benefits the economy and opens up job opportunities for other people.
Why Is Career Path Development Important For Employers?
Career path development is vital for many reasons, including its ability to help individuals progress into better jobs and a more skilled workforce. Here are just some of the reasons career path development is essential.
It Improves Employee Retention Rates
While individuals should think about their career development, it’s also essential for employers to acknowledge that progression opportunities are key to employee retention.
According to Monster, the average employee turnover rate in the UK is 15% per year, with the retail, media and construction industries having the highest rates.
Most employers know that employee retention is less expensive than onboarding a new employee, so understanding career path development can make a big difference.
It Facilitates Proper Onboarding
When new employees join a company, they will go through an onboarding process to ensure they understand the company culture and values, their role within the organisation, and what is expected.
A good onboarding process will also include information about career development opportunities. This way, new employees know that there are possibilities for progression, and they can start planning their career path from day one.
It Encourages Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is essential to business success. The level of commitment and connection an employee feels towards their work and organisation defines how well they contribute to the industry.
Many factors affect employee engagement, including a dull environment, an unhealthy culture and few promotion opportunities. Providing development opportunities is a sure-fire way to increase it.
If employees know that they’ll have support to achieve their goals, they’re more likely to put more effort into their job roles.
It Creates A More Skilled Workforce
Career path development is an essential part of creating a more skilled workforce. If there are progression opportunities, employees are more likely to upskill themselves and take advantage of them.
This has a positive knock-on effect for businesses, as they will have access to a pool of highly skilled workers.
The Benefits Of Career Path Development For Individuals
Even if your employer doesn’t offer many progression opportunities, it doesn’t mean you consider your future. According to The Mirror, one-third of employees in the UK are unhappy with their jobs.
Perhaps the best way to ensure you can find your way is to create a career development path and build your skills over time.
Here are some benefits of career path development.
It Helps You To Plan For The Future
When you know what you want to achieve, it’s much easier to make a plan and work out how to get there.
Creating a career development path allows you to consider all of the options available to you and identify which route would be best for your skills and goals.
It Helps You To Set Goals
If you don’t have any goals, it can be challenging to stay motivated at work. When considering your career development path, think about what kind of things would help you progress and make sure they’re realistic.
Once you’ve got some goals in mind, it’s essential to review them regularly and update them. This way, you can ensure that your career development path stays on track.
It Helps You To Choose The Right Courses
When you’re trying to develop your career, there are a lot of different courses and qualifications available, and you might struggle to decide which is best for you.
Your career development path can help you to identify the skills you need to work on and choose suitable courses to get there.
The Skills Training Group offers a range of courses that can help you boost your skills and progress in your chosen field.
It Ensures You Can Find Work
People stay in dead-end jobs because they feel they don’t have any applicable skills to improve their prospects. With a career path development plan, you can start at the beginning and look at all the skills you need to move into a better career.
As time goes on and you take home study courses or attend workshops, you’ll be able to evaluate your progress and find work in a range of industries.
The Bottom Line
Career path development is essential because it ensures that individuals and employees can benefit from better prospects and opportunities.
With technology constantly advancing, there couldn’t be a better time to plan for the future and secure your employment.
If you need any help deciding which courses are right for you – or your team, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team.
