Reading: Identify Personal Skill Gaps and Develop a Personal Training Plan

Reading: Identify personal skill gaps and develop a personal training plan

Identify personal skill gaps and develop a personal training plan

Inside this reading:

Develop a personal training plan

Identify personal skill gaps

Technical skills

Employability skills

Communication skills

Leadership skills

Knowledge of enterprise policies and/or government legislation

Job seeking skills

Resume and job application writing skills

Personal presentation

Identify specific goals

Identify training/skill development opportunities at work

Staff development

Performance appraisals

Temporary job change

Presentations/conferences

Apply for other positions in the organisation

Be mentored or be a mentor

Volunteer for special projects

Research higher jobs

Consulting with others on your training needs

Identify training/skill development opportunities outside work

Study a formal accredited course

Enrol in a less formal training course

Read a book

Pay for a personal improvement consultant

Take on some contract work in addition to your usual job

Research the job market

Become a networker

Embrace lifelong learning!

Finalise your personal training plan

Presenting your personal training plan

Summary

Develop a personal training plan

Your parents and grandparents might have stayed in the one job or career all their working lives, but work places, technology, employment conditions and job descriptions are all changing at a rapid pace compared with a generation ago. Whether you are at the start or middle of your working life you need to plan your career. You are currently studying this course, so you are already on your way!

If you have written your personal career vision statement you may have thought about where you would like your career to be in one year, five years or ten years time.

Do you want to be in the same line of work but in a supervisory or management position?
Do you want to keep updating your technical skills and qualifications to keep up with technology changes?
Do you want to start your own business, make a fortune and retire at 45?

Focusing on the future can help you to plan for the things you need to learn and to find out how to get skilled.

Reflect: Your CV

How is your CV? Sooner or later you will need to prepare one for employers at a job interview. Even if you have created one in the past it is a good idea to continue to update it at least once a year to reflect your changing job responsibilities.

Either create a brief one-page CV or pull out your existing CV and update it with your most recent experience. What do you feel is missing from it? Is it good enough to present for your next ideal job position? Show it to a colleague or family member and discuss how it is presented and what it contains. Can they suggest any improvements? Perhaps take a look online for examples of CV’s for people in similar roles to yours. You will find many CV’s available on job-seeking websites such as Seek ( or MyCareer ( or CareerOne (

Identify personal skill gaps

Once you have an idea of where you want your career to be in five years time you can start to develop your personal training plan. To do this you need to assess your current skills, identify the skills you will need in the future and decide which skills to develop first.

To assess your current skills look at the statement of duties for your current job and/or any previous jobs. Look at the advertisements for similar positions. Even of you are not currently employed this will give you a good idea of what employers are looking for. Consider your technical and job specific skills as well as the more generic skills such as communication and time management. Then look at the statements of duty and job ads for the positions you want to aim for. If you want to work as a contractor or have your own business, use your network of friends or clients to ask questions about the special skills required. Make a list of the skills you will need and note those you already have.

Technical skills

Consider your current and previous jobs. What skills have you developed on the job?

What training and qualifications do you have now? Are these skills likely to remain in demand? Do you want to move into management positions?

In most work now, and particularly in IT, you need to update your technical skills continually. If you are an expert in one software package or language now, your skills could easily be obsolete in a few years time.

Employability skills

Employers now look for a range of generic skills which make you a flexible and productive member of staff. These are called employability skills. They may include:

Getting on with others (interpersonal skills)
Communicating ideas
Planning and organising activities
Working well in teams
Mathematical skills
Solving problems
Using technology

Communication skills

When you apply for a job or bid for a contract you need to show you can communicate effectively both orally and in writing. Communication is so important that you should consider including it in your personal vision statement. Employers and clients look for good interpersonal skills, writing skills as well as other more specific skills.

Interpersonal skills may include:

Listening and understanding
Giving clear instructions
Showing empathy
Being assertive
Using questioning skills
Using appropriate body language
Written communication includes:
Writing clearly, concisely and correctly
Writing a range of business documents
Writing to meet the needs of an audience and purpose
More specific skills:
Negotiating
Dealing with clients
Attending or conducting meetings
Making presentations
Leading a team
Resolving conflicts

Leadership skills

To be a supervisor or manager you need to demonstrate leadership skills. These include entrepreneurial ability, team building skills, coaching and developing staff and implementing organisational change.

Knowledge of enterprise policies and/or government legislation

When applying for a better position in your current workplace you may need to show that you are familiar with corporate policies such as Customer Service Guidelines. Check the relevant policy documents. You may need to ask Human Resources or your manager for these or they might be on the company intranet.

Most industries have a set of guidelines or a code of practice. You can often find these on the internet. For some jobs you may need to be familiar with specific government legislation or be required to have completed a particular course.

Many jobs require familiarity with certain government policies such as Equal Employment Opportunity, Occupational Health and Safety and legislation on health, industrial relations and the environment.

In IT you may need to show you are familiar with the corporate style guide. You may need knowledge of relevant technical protocols or standards or be familiar with laws about website accessibility.

Job seeking skills

Whether you want a better job with your current employer or with a new employer, today’s job market is very competitive. To be a successful job applicant you need to think about your personal presentation skills. The skills that make a successful job applicant are also essential to operating your own business.

Resume and job application writing skills

You need to be able to write a job application letter which stands out from the rest.

A conventional printed resume may not be adequate for the role you are seeking. Consider if you should design a web page for your resume with links to examples of your work, or maybe a CD ROM. To show your vision and skills you may need to develop a portfolio with samples of work you have completed. This could be in print or other media and should be presented in a professional manner.

Personal presentation

Picture what the interviewers will see when you enter the room. Do you appear confident? Do you present a dynamic image? Does your grooming and dress match the job you want? Do they reflect your personal vision stated on your resume? Do you answer the questions fluently and at length giving specific examples as evidence of your skills?

Reflect: Job seeking skills

Successfully seeking out job opportunities and presenting yourself well to potential employees is a skill in itself. You may have all the skills necessary to work in a job but you also need to be able to communicate your skills and knowledge to others, both in writing and in person.

Do an online search for tips on successful interview skills. Find two or three references and look at what they have in common. Is there anything you feel you could do better in preparing for job interviews?

Identify specific goals

Some ways you might narrow down your goals are:

Research the types of work and conditions you would like to aim for.
Look at ads for jobs in newspapers and on the internet.
Use your network of friends, colleagues and even clients to find out more about work opportunities.
Find out about work conditions in other organisations by talking to friends or clients or looking up the enterprise agreements for employees.
Consider part time versus full time work.
Find out about setting up a business and getting an ABN so you can consult or work on contract.
Think about your vision and how you would brand your business.

Identify training/skill development opportunities at work

So you know the job or jobs you want! You won’t get there by sitting and waiting for it to come to you. There are both formal and informal skill development strategies that you can include in your training plan.

Staff development

Most organisations want to support the career progress of their current employees as this promotes the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation. Usually, at the start of the year large organisations will prepare a staff development program of training sessions. They will sometimes incorporate suggestions from staff as well as training needs identified by management.

Performance appraisals

Many organisations have a staff appraisal system in which the supervisor meets with a staff member, usually once a year, to review their work and plan ways to enhance their future performance. It’s an opportunity for the supervisor to acknowledge the achievements of the staff member and learn about any problems that exist. It’s also an opportunity to warn the staff member about any areas of their performance that need improving. The supervisor will often work with the staff member to build on their strengths, overcome problems and identify needs or opportunities for training or development.

Your appraisal is a great opportunity to express your vision and your training needs and have them captured in an action plan endorsed by management. It’s also a good time for you to reflect, reassess your goals and reconsider your strategies.

Temporary job change

Secondment, visits to other enterprises, acting in higher positions and job rotation or exchange are all recognised ways of developing staff so that they return to their old position with enhanced skills.

Presentations/conferences

Apply to attend relevant conferences that will add to your knowledge and let you network with others in your field. Presenting a paper at a conference requires you to focus on an area of your expertise and improve your presentation skills. It is a very effective way of promoting your skills.

Apply for other positions in the organisation

Even if you apply for positions and do not succeed this will let others know you are interested in advancing your career path. It helps you practise your resume writing and interview skills and might lead to other offers.

Be mentored or be a mentor

Providing less experienced employees with a coach or mentor is an economical and effective way of increasing employee skills. Having a mentor means having access to a more experienced person’s knowledge and sometimes they can be a great supporter of your career. Being a mentor yourself can help you improve your communication skills as you need to think about how to relate your knowledge to another person.

Volunteer for special projects

Again this is a relatively easy way of gaining skills and recognition. In particular you can show you have the skills to collaborate in a team to solve problems. You can join a process improvement group, committee or special project team.

Research higher jobs

Look at the advertisements and statements of duties for higher positions. Take the opportunity to increase your corporate knowledge by talking to your mentor, your clients, researching the internet and reading policy documents.

Consulting with others on your training needs

If you are part of a work team, you may find that the training needs you have identified are common amongst the group. This may lead to an identified training need for both yourself and your colleagues within the organisation.

Alternatively you may find that others you work with have experience in areas where you have identified personal training needs. It may be that your workgroup needs to develop additional methods for sharing information. You may aslo find that others can help you both with on the job training and with identifying other sources of training to suit your needs.

Identify training/skill development opportunities outside work

If your workplace won’t provide the training and development that you want, or you are not currently working, you’ll need to look at other ways to advance your skills.

Study a formal accredited course

You might decide you need a TAFE or university qualification. Remember they have counsellors or course information officers who can help you choose the best course to meet your goals. (If you are reading this you have already taken a step forward, congratulations!)

Enrol in a less formal training course

Enrol in a personal grooming, assertiveness or time management course at your local Adult Community College or Workers Education Association (WEA). Try a leadership skills course at a university-based Continuing Education centre or management skills training with a private training provider.

Reflect: Informal training courses

Most training institutes mentioned above provide their courses and timetables online. Take a look at what’s available in your area.

Read a book

Find a book on a skill that you need to develop. Even in this internet-based era, local, TAFE and university libraries can still provide excellent resources for skill development. Also the professional information-gathering skills of librarians can help point you in directions that you may not have imagined.

Pay for a personal improvement consultant

See a fashionconsultant, get fit with a personal trainer or lash out on a new hairstyle.

Take on some contract work in addition to your usual job

This gives you a taste of running your own business while gaining extra experience and skills.

Research the job market

Regularly check the ads in the newspaper and on the internet to keep in touch with changes in the job market.

Become a networker

More people get jobs through their personal networks than from advertisements. Cultivate a wide range of contacts from colleagues, clients and friends. Joining a professional association can be another good way of keeping up to date and meeting people from your industry.

Embrace lifelong learning!

Today it is essential to have a positive attitude to learning throughout life—whether it is through formal study or informal learning. Informally you can learn a lot from talking to clients, solving customer complaints and reading reports.

Finalise your personal training plan

Once you decide what you need to do, you can draw up an action plan for the future, stating both the formal and informal actions you will take and the dates that they will be completed by.

Presenting your personal training plan

Who needs to see your personal training plan? If you are working with an organisation and are looking to move up to a higher position, it may be useful to discuss you plan with your supervisor. They may be able to assist you with flexible working hours to allow you to study or they may be able to suggest a mentor within the organisation. If you are looking for a new position, showing your plans to prospective employers will demonstrate your dedication and focus.

Reflect: personal training plans

What format will you use for your personal training plan? Take a look online to see if you can find any examples of personal training plans that others have developed

Summary

Creating a personal training plan helps you plan how to overcome the gaps you currently see in your skills. It provides you with a list of actions to take—both informal and formal and a timeline for completing them.

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