The importance of training in personal and professional development
23 de February, 2022
Personal and professional development is a constant throughout our lives. We learn new things every day, often without being aware of it. However, it is when we intentionally invest in our training as people and professionals that this growth is enhanced. But what role do training and education play in personal and professional development? First, let’s try to understand these concepts better.
What is personal and professional development?
Personal development has to do with people’s intrinsic need to grow and reach their potential. It is an ongoing process – it takes place from childhood to adulthood – which consists of acquiring a set of skills and experiences that help people feel more fulfilled. Some examples of personal development goals could be volunteering, traveling more, learning to speak a new language, reading more, taking a photography course, creative writing and many others.
Professional development, on the other hand, occurs at the stage of life when people have a professional activity and want to achieve their career goals. In this case, the search for new skills and learning can be actively pursued by employees or stimulated by the companies themselves (which are obliged by law to provide professional training for their employees). Some examples of professional development goals could be taking team management or time management training, specializing in your area of training, taking a practical course in a particular software and much more.
Nevertheless, the concepts of personal and professional development are related and can be seen as two sides of the same coin. When we don’t achieve our personal goals, this can have a negative impact on our professional performance. On the other hand, achieving a professional goal (such as being promoted) can also be seen as a personal achievement.
The importance of training and education
As we have seen, training is not just a means of acquiring new skills that can be useful in a professional context. It’s not just a way of enhancing your CV. Above all, training is an opportunity to enrich yourself and grow on a personal level. Whatever your field, training allows you to update your knowledge and gain new perspectives on situations and the world. And that paves the way for change, innovation and progress. That’s why training and education are fundamental at any time in our lives, not just during the school and academic years. Because it’s never too late to learn and feel more fulfilled.
4 steps to invest in your personal and professional development
- Define your objectives: determine the goals you want to achieve in the medium to long term. For example, improve the way you communicate, write better, manage your time better, learn to speak English, get a postgraduate degree in your field, etc.
- Set priorities and deadlines for achieving these goals: deciding when you want to see these goals completed will help you focus on them. For example, improving your level of English in six months’ time and starting a postgraduate course next academic year.
- Develop your knowledge and skills: once you have a clear idea of your goals and priorities, it’s time to start putting them into practice. For example, enrol in language school or college and take the courses you want.
- Measure progress: take time to reflect on what you’ve already learned and see if you’re progressing in the way you want. If you are, you just need to stay focused. If you’re not, you should try to find out what’s not going so well so that you can improve and stay motivated to continue.
Have you ever thought about how you would like to invest more in yourself? Is there any training or activity you’d like to do in order to grow personally or professionally? There’s always time and today is a good day to start!