Lifelong learning: The key to career advancement

Education is an asset that continues throughout your life. It doesn’t end after high school or college. Even in the workplace, your ability to learn is highly valuable.

Why it matters: Pursuing education fuels career progression, enhances skills and elevates productivity, all leading to a surge in confidence, morale, customer satisfaction and overall growth. The job market has recently pivoted its focus from bachelor’s or associate degrees towards credentials and certifications.

• A mere one third of entry-level jobs mandate a college degree, and a quarter of employers are willing to accept credentials in lieu of a degree, according to a report from Ellucian.

By the numbers: Educational opportunities are also a great way to engage different teams, which can lead to overall employee retention. Seven in 10 people say learning improves their sense of connection to their job, and eight in 10 people say learning adds purpose to their work, according to the Workplace Learning Report.

With ever-changing norms in the current job market, acquiring the right kinds of skills is essential. For example, emotional intelligence and knowledge of advanced technologies are two important skills to sharpen throughout your career.

What they’re saying: “Continued education is valuable not just for how effectively it can make you do your job, but also in giving you credentials that empower those above you to promote you,” said Derrick Swaney, credit specialist at MiTek, Inc. (Chesterfield, MO). “Without the appropriate credentials, even if someone may think you’re a good fit or qualified, they may pass over you because they want to make a safe pick with someone who checks all boxes.”

An efficient way to maximize skills gained from sought-out education is to apply that knowledge to your everyday duties. In addition to helping with understanding financial statements or management practices, your knowledge can also help you effectively run a department and manage risk.

As someone who has worked in the construction industry for more than 30 years, Carl Williams, VP of credit at Lonestar Electric Supply (Houston, TX), said education is extremely valuable and is an ongoing process. “Our upper management encourages us to take educational opportunities whenever we can to learn more about the construction credit field,” Williams said. “Rules are always changing and staying up to date on the latest technology is highly valuable right now. It’s important to make sure the new technologies and processes are learned correctly, and anyone can get that information through continued education. It should especially be ongoing to stay abreast of not just lien statutes but contract rules as well.”

Getting upper management on board with educational opportunities might seem daunting, but preparing to present a case for why continuing education is valuable will help.

“Those in power typically want their team members certified in several areas so that they can explain to their boss or board of directors that they’ve made an intelligent decision,” said Swaney. “But if you don’t have all the certifications, it may be a good sell to upper management that if you were to receive this education, it would help ensure the stability of the department and reflect well on the company.”

Some credit professionals who attend in-person conferences feel that they gain more educational value in those few days than they would in a week through reading a book on how to do something. Gaining information organically from personal experience has a human element on how to go about certain processes.

“Getting out to a conference like Credit Congress is a great way to put yourself in the position to network with people you’ve never spoken to before and gain different perspectives,” said Williams. “But webinars are important as well because they give opportunities for those who can’t make it to in-person conferences a few minutes to an hour at lunch to sit in and learn something that would be important to them.”

The bottom line: Continued education not only enhances your skills but also empowers you with credentials that can open doors for career advancement and promotions, benefiting both you and your organization in the long run.