What are the latest trends in professional development?

[Monirul Islam]

1.  Short courses such as webinars, short accredited external training programs, and there is an increasing trend to free web-based university courses. I have also seen an increase in individuals wanting to improve their soft skills in leadership, team development and conflict resolution. These individuals are often working with a mentor or a career coach to develop or refine these skills.

2. More people are being seen as 'leaders' in their organisations because of their impact, not on their authority or position. People need to recognise this and have access to internal leadership development programs or look externally to develop these skills.

Demand for 'big data' skills is growing sharply and many employees lack the analytical skills to deal with so much complex data and training is required. With the movement of employees around organisations and their desire for variety, more resources need to be provided for career development skills. Many people lack the basics of writing a good resume and smart interview skills, which they will need throughout their careers. There is a renewed focus on communication skills, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity, all of which aim to improve long term employee productivity.
3.  Webinars, online information, podcasts, blogs, half-day conferences instead of two days.

4.  My area of expertise is in developing emotionally intelligent leaders. There has definitely been an increased awareness of the importance of understanding self and others as well as being able to influence and inspire others (people management). This includes an awareness of the different personality temperaments – their needs, values, behaviours and communication style.

As well as understanding disparate temperaments, the skills necessary for improving interpersonal communication and relationship-building are considered essential for leadership and professional development. These include assertive communication and conflict management. Then there are the time management skills such as prioritising, organisation and work-life balance.

5.  The most exciting trends in professional development are:

The focus on adaptive learning, where the learning needs of the individual – the way he or she prefers to learn – are of prime importance in the way learning material is presented.

Blended learning which uses a mix of structured on and offline learning along with coaching and mentoring. It's the most complete form of training that we have yet come up with.

The realisation that professional development needs to start before a person takes up the role. For example, we train emerging leaders so they are ready for the role when it is offered to them instead of having to learn on the run. The focus is now on equipping people for their future needs, and not just skilling them for their present role.

6.  Soft skills are huge - conflict resolution, presentation and public speaking, emotional intelligence. However, picking a technical skill to enhance what you do or to help you move to the next stage of your career is vital. For marketers that could be understanding and using data, for designers it could a course in user experience. In IT we are seeing the convergence of operational roles with development roles - DevOps - but so far people with the right skillets are in short supply so there is an opportunity right there.

Source: https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/professional-development