09 Jan What is the difference between training & professional development?
Every employee has certain responsibilities that come with their job, sometimes these requests will demand additional training. Other times, even years after getting the job, you may feel a necessary push to update your skills to meet current requirements. Either way, if you are an employee keen on improving in your role, the learning and educational process will be ongoing.
An employee can engage in improving their skills in two ways: through training or professional development. But what is the difference?
Training is improving skills in the short-term to better engage in your current role. It focuses on teaching the employee to be efficient at certain tasks, to learn a new skill that may be essential on the job, or to become engrossed in workplace cultural practices. These requisites are very specific for the job and workplace. Different types of training include computer skills, diversity, ethics, harassment and so many more. For example, if you are working as an intern for a marketing firm and they require proficiency in a photoshop platform, you will have to learn how to use it so that your job can be completed up to the standard your employer expects.
A training program is created more to benefit the company and meet cultural expectations than it is to progress the employee individually. For example, a company will often ask all employees to complete communications or workplace conduct training so that every employee is on the same page with what kind of environment your employer established. Therefore, employees can expect that these programs will be covered by the workplace, as it is training to become an employee that best suits them.
Professional development is a bit different than training, as it focuses on long-term improvements tailored to the employee’s growth. This type of program is not role specific; it is focused on upgrading the employee for their career at large.
An employee would engage in professional development to manage their career path by updating their skills so that they are more competitive in the market and could become a more enticing hire for future employers. It could also give the employee opportunity to make more money in their current workplace as they could become qualified to take on more responsibilities that are currently out of their scope. Most of the time, the employee will start their professional development journey not with a specific outcome in mind, but to open more doors for their future selves.
If you are an employee who has issues in your role, advancing to a superior role at the workplace, or asking your employer for more compensation once enhancing certain skills, please contact, KCY at LAW by filling in an online consultation request or contact us by phone at 905-639-0999 to book your consultation today.