Five Different Reasons for Taking a Continuing Education Program Returning to college after graduation and taking a short, focused program dedicated to a specific job is the foundation of continuing education. Unfortunately, there has been something of a backlash against the practice, with some seeing it as delaying entry into the real world, a sort of prolonged adolescence. In reality, it’s a means to upgrade and enhance your job skills, and numerous groups of people can benefit from Continuing Education programs. If any of these sounds like you, it may be something to consider: You need a job First, some reassurance: It’s a tough market out there, and if you’ve been having trouble finding employment after graduation, it doesn’t mean your education was inadequate, or that there’s something wrong with you. Simply speaking, the markets flooded, and you need to stand out. A focused, specific continuing education program can be used to give you specific job skills, letting you stand out from that crowd of job seekers. You need a better job These same advantages also apply if you’re unsatisfied with the job you have. Maybe it’s only part-time, or seasonal, or doesn’t really represent what you went to school for. Or maybe you’re unsatisfied with your chosen career path, and want to change paths. That same education can be used to alter your career path for the better. You need to keep your job One advantage of continuing education is that its current, and can be used to ensure that your knowledge of software, technology and best practices in a career field is up to date. If you’re working in a sector that’s rapidly changing, it can be to your advantage to keep your knowledge fresh, particularly if it’s in a sector with
Address: Centennial College, P.O. Box 631, Station A, Toronto M1K 5E9, Ontario, Canada Tel: 416-289-5300, Email: success@centennialcollege.ca
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high turnover, or a shrinking market. Making yourself valuable with knowledge can be insurance. You want to advance your job Similarly, if you’re ambitious, and want to climb the corporate ladder, you can use con-ed to enhance your skills and receiving the credit that goes with them, using that extra credibility to earn recognition, promotion, and bonuses. Ill take a moment here to note that if you are employed, and your schedule seems to make attending school impossible, you can opt to take either weekend or evening classes, or even distance learning, where you can receive your education either online or in print form. You want to advance yourself Some think of continuing education not as a matter of career enhancement, but as a method to pick up life skills for their own sake. Its possible to enrol not because you have to, but because you wish to pick up a new skill simply to enhance your own life, or meet similarly-minded people. Between the aforementioned evening and weekend classes, and distance learning, you can augment your life with learning without having to severely disrupt it. Author: Jason White