As Australian job mobility remains at decade-highs, it has become increasingly important to reskill to stay professionally competitive.
In February 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that 9.5% of employed Australians had changed their job in the previous 12 months – the same level as the previous year.
This means 1.3 million people took the leap and put themselves first by chasing a career closer to their dream job. Or perhaps there were some who simply moved for greater flexibility, higher pay, or better perks. Whatever their reasoning, many will have faced the need to upskill as a means of outshining their fellow job seekers. In this case, MP Training has short courses for careers of all kinds from hospitality to retail, childcare, and professional development.
The type of career change will dictate how much upskilling will be required. Where absolute backflips from law to healthcare may require a whole new qualification, there are other transitions which come with transferrable skills.
For example, if you began at an organisation as an intern and intend on moving up the ranks, it will help to display a certain level of proactivity to prove that you’re ready. That’s why we offer short courses in computer training where students will learn beginner, intermediate and advanced skills in the Microsoft Office suite. These skills can be taken into many jobs and add a point of difference to your resume.
So, before you dive into the short courses on offer at MP Training & Recruitment, allow us to discuss the many ways a short course can boost your career.
Resume building
We must begin by emphasising that a good resume should prioritise quality over quantity. Employers don’t want to know that you have your certificate for the service of alcohol if you’ll be working in an office job. Likewise, your marketing degree is hardly relevant to a job on a construction site.
We also recommend ordering your resume items by order of relevance to the role, rather than by how impressive they are in isolation.
With all of that said, a short course in computer skills or professional development is a fantastic way to show that you are passionate about improving your professional standing. You may even gain a few extra points if the course was voluntary (not a mandatory session run by your company) and paid for off your own back. The reason these short courses can help you to stand out is simply because not every applicant is doing them. While many people who apply for a role in marketing should have a marketing degree, not all of them will have a short course or two under their belt. In a competitive job market, this may just be the point of difference that gets you the job over anyone else.
Grow your network
Short courses are a great place to meet like-minded professionals who are also on the path to success. When you walk into that first class, you may just find yourself sitting next to a future business partner, or an investor who will take your small business to the next level.
That’s why we’re always encouraging collaboration between our students as they undertake our on-site training.
Additionally, our short courses offer one-on-one training with industry experts who can offer insights that are hard to access anywhere else. This structure provides further opportunity for you to build your network and connect with people who have already walked your future path. Whichever course you choose, make sure to listen and learn from your tutors as they may have the gem of information that will transform your career.
Greater flexibility
If you’ve ever completed a higher education qualification, be it a certificate, diploma, bachelor’s degree or something more, you’ll know those years can often drag on.
Of course, you may be passionate about your chosen course, but very few people make it through several years of studying without once doubting their choices. That doubt can be healthy, but ultimately arduous.
When you complete a short course, there is less room for burnout, change of interests, or self-doubt. Instead, you spend a handful of weeks learning about a topic which you are currently passionate about and finish the course with a renewed interest in your career.
If you’re extremely passionate, you can always complete multiple short courses in a row and build your dream resume over the course of a few months.
The other drawback with some extended qualifications is that they can include units of information that really don’t interest you. Short courses, on the other hand, are a more specific curriculum of information that will engage you from start to finish. There’s nothing to slog through for the ultimate goal of earning that piece of paper, just cold, hard facts that will boost your career.
Flexibility is also afforded by short courses as some can even be completed online and after-hours. If this is important to you, make sure to enquire with us before signing up and confirm that you can fit a short course into your busy schedule.
Fill knowledge gaps
Perhaps you’ve already completed that bachelor’s degree and don’t feel the need to add a short course to your qualifications. But everyone has knowledge gaps.
You may have skipped a class, failed a unit, or fallen asleep mid-seminar! Over the course of several years, it’s highly likely you didn’t absorb every piece of information thrown your way.
So, admitting this, the best way to plug any holes in your knowledge is through a short course.
Additionally, there’s no harm in admitting that your expensive degree didn’t include basic skills such as advanced Microsoft Office skills, or professional development training. In fact, they almost certainly jumped straight into the specifics of your discipline, right?
If this is the case and you feel the need to scrub up on more basic skills, check out our range of short courses and commit to becoming a more complete professional.
Get in touch with our team and find a short course that’s right for you. There are roughly 1.3 million other Australians changing jobs just like you, so level up your job-hunting game and put your best foot forward today.