What is Professional Development?

Posted on 03/09/21 By Lorman Team

Most professionals desire to learn more things, gain more experience, and scale new heights throughout their careers.

Professional development important for everyone — whether you're an employee or the employer within an organization. It allows you to have the required skill sets to contribute to overall organizational success and achieve the most in your career.

What is Professional Development?

Also known as professional learning or continuing education, professional development refers to everything that you need to be successful in your career. This may involve additional training, education, work experience, or certification.

Regardless of the amount of education or experience that you have, you may need to learn more in order to become better at what you do. Professional development allows you to acquire these needed skills efficiently.

How to Get Started with Professional Development 

Here are some steps that you can take when setting your professional development goals:

1. Begin by setting a reasonable end goal
   
   
2. Figure out where you are and what aspects you want to improve
   
   
3. Look for information on what you need to achieve your goal
   
   
4. Give yourself enough time to achieve your professional development goals
   
   
5. Adhere to your schedule and avoid disruptions

Remember, your objectives have to be SMART. That means they have to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound.

Why Professional Development is Important

The main benefits of professional development include:

• Achieve Your Career Goals Quicker

Ongoing learning allows you to view things from different perspectives. Apart from the knowledge gained from studying for your career, learning supplementary information gives you more options to choose from.

With the options available, you can make informed decisions and work on your plans. In the end, you will realize your career goals quicker than others. 

• Increases Marketability

With the skills gained from professional development, you will stand out from your peers or other job candidates. In some cases, the additional skills gained can be a determining factor in determining whether you qualify for a certain job role. 

• Improves Your Efficiency

Professional development gives you additional skills that allow you to tackle certain tasks quickly and more efficiently. Tasks will become easier which means you will accomplish more in less time, thereby making you a more efficient employee.

• Improves Your Confidence

As a professional, the feeling that you can handle a particular task easily makes you comfortable and builds your confidence. Professional development helps you master important skills, making you feel more confident in your abilities. 

• Helps You to Rise Up the Ranks

Education and income are closely aligned. Therefore, you stand a better chance of being promoted with professional development than without. The more you learn and gain skills, the higher you will go in your career.

The Key Takeaway

Professional development refers to the additional training, education, and certification that puts you ahead of the rest in your workplace or personal career. 

With skills gained from professional development programs, you can advance your career, build your confidence, and become more efficient worker.

Lorman offers training resources to advance your career and set you apart from the competition. Learn more about our professional development solutions.