Volume 52 Issue 08 - August 2014 : Career Corner

Are you a graduate who is feeling frustrated as it is taking ages to get a job or get a scholarship for your next education level? Are you an unhappy professional, feeling like you are being sidelined when it comes to being promoted? Or maybe you are a business owner who is looking into new ways of enhancing your company management? This is but a few of the situations that we might at times find ourselves experiencing during our life`s journey.

Often at times we wait and wait for opportunities to come knocking on our door. When it feels like you are not growing in your workplace or opportunities are not coming your way then this calls for action. We need to develop a mentality of working extra hard at empowering ourselves that waiting until the next opportunity does not result in torment.

When looking at enhancing one`s career prospects we often at times not give much attention to doing short courses. However, this can be one of the best investments you ever make for yourself towards your career advancement.

Short courses are often offered by various departments of institutions such as Centre for Continuing Education (University of Botswana), Institute of Development Management (IDM), Enterprise Development Intelligence (EDI) and Botswana College of Distance and Opening Learning (BOCODOL) to mention a few. They are often affordable that you can either sponsor yourself or ask your employee to meet you halfway.

The duration for the short courses usually runs from one to two weeks meaning one can take a short break from work. Institutions often give participants certificates at the end of the short course.

Through these institutions the following courses and more are offered;
Financial Management for Non Governmental Organisations
Strategic Leadership and Supervisory Management
Communications and Interpersonal Skills
Performance Management and Appraisal Strategy
Developing Entrepreneurship Skills
Occupational Health and Safety
Guest House Management
Public Relations

There are so many short courses also offered online either free or at a price. As an exercise look through this website www.coursera.org for further research.

The greatest benefits of short courses are that they are practical and convenient. They can be completed through campus learning or distance learning. They allow an individual to continue their current lifestyle while improving their skills and CV.

This is of particular importance to working people, as no income will be lost when studying part-time. Learning is a life long process and hence one needs to keep up to date with current ways of doing things i.e. change management, motivating staff, effective communication methods, team building, conflict resolutions and so forth. This will also help increase one`s network base as meets other professionals from various organisations or companies.

Continued learning is important if you want to become or stay successful in the workplace. If this is something of immediate interest to you, wait no further, do your research and give it a short.

NB: These articles are meant to address career issues and inform you on opportunities available for your development. If you have any questions pertaining to careers please email them to ccbotswana@gmail.com. Ends

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