Congratulations, you’re a graduate! You’ve got that degree under your belt, and all that hard slog was worth it, right?
You may or may not be pleased at this reminder, though: the learning has only just begun. You’re now in an arms race with new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), so, simply to keep up to speed (and that’s before we talk about making progress in your career), you’re going to have to consider more courses and, perhaps, even a postgraduate degree.
That can sound daunting, but as the need for ongoing continuous professional development (CPD) intensifies, the flexibility for learners has increased, too.
Learners don’t have to take on a postgraduate, or even a shorter course, as some of what they need to know will be right there on YouTube or the Khan Academy.
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“CPD helps people to keep up to speed with changes in society and across the world,” says Dr Helen Murphy, head of the Faculty of Education and lifelong learning at Setu. “These include AI, sustainability and the green agenda. But learning and updating skills also boosts our confidence and can be hugely fulfilling.”
Andree Harpur, an independent career guidance counsellor at Andree Harpur and Associates, says that a lot of professional CPD is generated by EU regulations.
“Most obviously, this includes regulations around health and safety in the building and construction industries, but you’ll find CPD requirements in practically every profession, including my own, with guidance counsellors required to do a certain number of learning hours per year, perhaps involving new approaches to guidance counselling and new tools and technologies.
“As you get that bit older, even two to three years after graduation, you start to see gaps in skills as the younger generation comes up behind you. They will have completed a more up-to-date course and will be coming to the workforce with skills you don’t have, so CPD is a way of keeping yourself current. And companies love it if you, as a young graduate, voluntarily come to them and say that you want to do a course.”
Indeed, many companies – especially medium to large firms that may have a bigger budget – will support their workers through CPD, whether by paying for or subsidising a course, or allowing them some amount of study leave.
“I have clients in their mid or late 50s who remain current by topping up their knowledge,” says Harpur.
The amount of CPD hours required varies within and between professions. In a more general degree, such as communications or business, a graduate CV may lack specific skills. Harpur says that this is where courses which are aimed at developing specific skills can come into their own.
“I have a client who did a very general business degree, but was interested in health and safety, so he did a specific course in online governance and the safety of young people online, which made his CV more targeted,” says Harpur.
Of course, CPD takes time, and becomes more important just as graduates face growing demands on this precious commodity.
If you have a partner, it needs to be a joint decision, with a focus on how a course can benefit both people in the couple, says Harpur.
There are extra barriers for women, who are often burdened with an unfair or disproportionate amount of caring responsibilities. Meanwhile, disabled people, especially those with a physical disability, may struggle to access physical learning spaces, making the online element all the more important.
“Finance can also be an impediment,” says Murphy. “That said, there have been changes at the national level. Springboard+ was introduced over a decade ago and it allows learners to apply for funded courses in areas of skills shortages. In addition, SUSI has increased funding for part-time and postgraduates in specific programmes, including some grant money.”
Harpur says that updating your knowledge keeps you fresh. “Think of it like a website. If you don’t keep updating it, it gets tired and less likely to appear in Google searches. In the same vein, if you update your skills, you will be linking in with others from different walks of life, widening your network through the exchange of thoughts and ideas.
“And the easiest way of expanding your knowledge, self-development and connections is by expanding – or sometimes refining – that network. I’m now an older person in my career area, but linking in with newer or younger practitioners helps me to stay fresh, while they also benefit from my experience and expertise.”
Murphy says that the benefits of lifelong learning extend well beyond money or career. “At an individual level, learners develop enhanced confidence and self-esteem, as they come to value themselves as an individual with a contribution to make,” she says.
“People often come to us because they are looking to move on in their career, but research shows that when people engage or re-engage with learning, society as a whole benefits from better health, media and financial literacy. Learning enhances how you manage the world we live in today.
“I’ve seen people who come back to get a qualification and, from this, develop the confidence to volunteer in their local community. And we know that there is a correlation between educational attainment and outcomes in life.”
Fresh ways to learn
Adult learning online: What’s available?
- eCollege.ie: Interactive online learning and industry-certified courses from Solas, available 24/7 with support from qualified tutors from Monday to Friday. Currently free. Courses include office productivity, computer programming, data science, web and graphic design and Irish language. Courses range in length. See eCollege.ie for more information.
- GoHighbrow.com: Don’t fancy a time commitment right now? Wake up every morning to a new five-minute lesson delivered to your email inbox. Mor than 300 topics from which to choose.
- KhanAcademy.org: Almost 7,000 free videos and lectures on a wide range of topics for people of all ages. Practice exercises, instructional videos and a personalised learning dashboard form key parts of the platform.
- Coursera.org: This database of large open online courses (MOOCs) allows learners to take a full course from a range of universities worldwide. Courses are low-cost or free and include all the big academic disciplines. The certification isn’t the point; learning and upskilling are what matter here.
- Alison.com: More than 1,000 free courses from providers across the world are available from this highly respected, Galway-based company. The nine categories include IT, language, science, health, humanities, business, maths, marketing and lifestyle.
- Mooc-list.com: If you’re looking to filter free online courses by country (including Ireland), course provider or course length, this website is a very useful tool that easily directs learners to what they need.
- DigitalCharityLab.org/elearning: With charities having to move online for fundraising, Digital Charity Lab is offering three online courses aimed at those in the non-profit sector, including digital marketing, Google Grant Adwords and email marketing. Courses are very affordable (at the time of writing, the most expensive was €24.99).
- Books and articles: You may simply need to know a specific piece of information about a particular task, and this is where articles can come in handy. Meanwhile, don’t forget that we can often learn as much from books as we can from any certified course.
Case study
Graduate School of Management, RCSI
Healthcare has made rapid advances in the past century, and the pace of change is accelerating ever faster.
New technologies – in particular AI – and discoveries mean that healthcare professionals regularly need to upskill.
At the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI), the Graduate School of Management (GSM) specialises in providing healthcare management to healthcare professionals. “Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists are just some of the healthcare professionals who have taken our courses,” says Siún Aherne, operations director at GSM.
In any industry, people can often be promoted based on seniority, rather than people or management skills. That’s why so many of us will have a useless boss at least once in our careers. At GSM, however, the focus is on training healthcare leaders who can drive through change by bringing as many colleagues as possible on board.
“We have a particular focus on leadership,” says Aherne.
“Our postgraduate suite includes the RCSI professional diploma in clinical leadership, as well as the diploma in leading digital health transformation, the MSc in healthcare management, the MSc in quality and safety in healthcare management and the MSc in leadership and innovation in healthcare.”
While academic programmes involve a greater time commitment from participants, RCSI also has a range of 17 CPD courses and microcredentials, all of which are online and, in most cases, run for five weeks.
These include leadership and management, managing human trafficking concerns in health and social care settings, finance for healthcare, digital health technologies and personalised healthcare.
All provide healthcare professionals with continuous professional development (CPD) credits. In any regulated profession – whether medicine, finance and banking or architecture, to name a few – a set amount of CPD is an annual requirement.
“It’s these shorter courses that are increasingly appealing to graduates, who need to constantly upskill but, understandably, would be hard-pressed to complete more than one or two master’s qualifications over the course of their career,” says Aherne.
“We know that healthcare professionals are very busy, and there isn’t usually time for numerous intensive periods of study.
“That’s why our courses are online and flexible, blending theory and practical application. They’re also co-designed with students and healthcare experts, to ensure that they meet the needs of healthcare where it is now. Management skills aren’t always innate, and it helps healthcare teams when strategy and collaboration are placed front and centre.”
Courses such as those on offer at RCSI’s GSM (see RCSI.com/leadership) are becoming increasingly popular, as they allow learners to swerve the big commitment of a master’s course while still updating their knowledge and skills.
