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“New Year, New Me” may be a modern day cliché but we are certainly seeing evidence of the new year providing new motivation for those looking to progress their career and personal development in sales, marketing or management further.
So why are people looking to professional qualifications in 2014?
We seem to mainly be speaking to 3 distinct groups of people that you may relate to:
These are people who are currently without work but looking to return or join the worlds of marketing, sales or management. Enquirers can range from Mums who have taken some time off but are looking to develop a qualification and move back into the work place, graduates looking to develop upon university degrees or those who have unfortunately been made redundant and are looking to help themselves stand out on the job market.
These enquirers are working at entry to mid level positions within a company and have either been selected for extra development by their manager/director or those who are taking it upon themselves to start a qualification that won’t only benefit them but also the company they work for. They see the course as a helpful tool in their career development which will open doors in the future and generally help them do what they do to a higher level.
The title is by no means offensive but we do see an influx of those who have been in their selected industry for a long time looking to develop their knowledge base or add an academic understanding to years of practical experience. We are also seeing a high level of these people who have been in marketing for a long time wanting to understand more about the constantly evolving world of digital marketing opportunities. Their development is not only good on a personal and company level but is also great for those they work with because the knowledge they learn will be imparted upon those who work directly with or underneath the student as the qualification teachings are being applied in the work place.
Well there are a few reasons why a professional qualification accredited by a leading awarding body (CIM, CAM, CMI or ISMM) is the ideal way to develop whilst working or whilst looking to find work:
The main joy of a professional qualification compared to say an academic degree is the practical applications of the qualification and how quickly you can apply them to day to day work. Every qualification pathway is created with the work place in mind and the learning outcomes all include business tactics that can be applied whilst you are studying the qualification as well as gaining the academic knowledge to support the tactics being employed.
At Professional Academy and with the awarding bodies it is business professionals who are not only leaders in their chosen subject matter but also working and active in their own businesses so they are able to give up to date and relevant lesson information adding life and relevant experiences to the already excellent course material .
As these are professional qualifications we do understand that most people undertaking them will be professional and therefore working. As such the course can be as flexible as you like and can be spread across the space of 2 years with full support. People can learn with intimate workshop sessions which are face to face with experienced tutors or independently via distance learning. The amount of time you put in between assessments and outside of work is really up to you as well and time management as well as knowing your limitations are skills that are instantly learnt with the qualification.
Well this is the question asked by people when spending any amount of money on any amount of training and we actually looked in to these in depth towards the end of last year from a company and personal perspective but as the theme of this blog appears to have become the rule of three we will buck the main reasons why people are choosing to study their professional qualification:
Stand out from the crowd:
If you are either the Job seeker or Career Climber we spoke about before this is probably your chief goal. Job seekers will be noticing those words “CIM qualification desirable” pop up with nearly any marketing roles. Those who are career climbers will be wondering “how can I prove I am better then Jeff who sits on the other side of the office?” Well saying you are studying a qualification and then being able to show or apply the skills you are learning will certainly help you to impress either in the workplace or at the job interview.
This is also applicable for those directors and managers who will be able to guide their company to stand out from the crowd by applying their new found knowledge to business practices.
So if you relate to one of the above people or the reasons above have convinced you to study a professional qualification in 2014 please contact us or download a prospectus today.