Why Upskilling Is The Best Way To Stay Successful In A Modern Workplace

Upskilling to change careers

In the modern workplace, many people will change not just jobs but also careers – this indicates the growing need to learn new skills and abilities to fill our own skills gaps. Changing careers means learning new technologies and skill sets that previously weren’t a focus of a former career. Skills training can be crucial to the success of a new career, both in attaining a job and in future promotions.

Upskilling for professional development

With the noticeable change of pace in modern workplaces, it helps to keep abreast of new roles and training programs that can help you progress and equip you with a competitive advantage. For example, this may be particularly relevant for mature workers who have been in an industry for a long time. With digital skills and digital fast becoming a compulsory part of workplaces, many find themselves feeling like they need some online training.

There are a variety of professional development areas – not limited to artificial intelligence and digital training. Healthcare professionals may want to undergo training programs that will teach them about other specialties, or pursue micro-learning opportunities. Upskilling is also vital when it comes to the merging of industry areas. Taking IT as an example, industry professionals will need a sound understanding of data science and analysis, or even the fusion of health and IT – this is where a single unit plays a major part in ensuring that professionals are equipped with the knowledge they need to keep up with changes in their industries.

Depending on which area your current role is in, you may be interested in subjects such as:

• Personality and Social Psychology
• Data wrangling
• Data exploration and visualisation
• Evaluation in public health
• Health economics

Upskilling for personal development

People who undertake education for personal development are those who value learning content for the sake of knowledge itself. Single units, short courses and training programs are hugely beneficial to personal development learners, as they offer the ability to grow knowledge in specialised skill areas, and develop essential knowledge without committing to a full degree or course.

Single units are becoming increasingly popular as universities open up their degrees and enable eligible people to take a single subject from a degree program, allowing students to build on their skill set and industry-relevant knowledge, without having to undertake an entire postgraduate course.

There are also a variety of single units that teach or encourage soft skills, which can be used for personal development in volunteering or other non-work related situations. Courses include:

• Introduction to Psychology
• Programming Foundations in Python
• Introduction to Databases
• Accounting for Health Care Managers
• Safety and Quality Health Care

Skilled workers looking to get back into the workforce

Which industries need workers to upskill?

Realistically, every industry can improve employee engagement by investing in upskilling staff, especially in a society where people are likely to move through multiple jobs both in their current industry and into new industries in the future.

Monash Online offers single units for some of the most popular and emerging industries in Australia including:

Health

A single unit in health can provide tailored, practical knowledge to assist in the progression of a career in this industry. For many health care careers, additional skills such as management or health economics are compulsory if an individual were looking to qualify for a promotion. For example, if someone were to more from a clinical background into a public health role, a single unit can assist them in growing the knowledge is vital areas such as health trends and issues that affect public health as a whole, such as epidemiology or biostatistics. Single units can also assist those in management positions within a hospital setting, but are not from a professional health care background – by completing a mini qualification, individuals are able to develop specialised skills for example in Safety and Quality in Health Care, and further advance their career.

Psychology

A single unit in psychology is particularly useful for those in a corporate or human-related job that requires an understanding of human behaviour. For instance, jobs such as HR, UX/CX design, marketing, teaching, health, or law enforcement. Applying insights from psychology to your current job can make you a more effective communicator and motivator. It can allow you to expand your influence in your current role or opening up new progression pathways.

Those working in psychology can use online study to keep up with changes in the field.

Data science

Though data science is a relatively new field, the relevant skill set is prized across a wide variety of companies and industries as big data becomes an increasingly critical tool for business. The ability to analyse and extract knowledge from data sets is valuable in many jobs across the business, government, and social sectors, whether that’s finding actionable insights, making predictions, or making decisions.

It is undeniable that upskilling for both professional and personal development is crucial to the success of any employee. Whether you want to improve your knowledge for your own sake or for the sake of future proofing your career, there is a single unit perfect for you via online learning.