Why is career development important

Here leaders share their thoughts on the value of career development and how career development professionals are making a difference to Canadians. From youth to newcomers and from special needs populations to older adults, career development impacts the economic and social well-being of the country and its citizens. It shapes individuals, families and communities. It drives education, work and life.

Watch this YouTube video to see what people in the field have to say! Career Cruising careercruising. We salute CERIC for creating this meeting place so career practitioners can support each other like never before.

They are something that is always growing, just like the hair on our heads. In our Career Engagement model, we illustrate how an individual can outgrow a specific job when his or her increased capacity begins to outweigh the challenge of the position. Similarly, Csikszentmihalyi, in his work on Flow, spoke to the importance of matching skills to challenge. Without career development, work can become boring and meaningless.

Just ask Paul Hawken. According to Mercer's Global Leveling survey, the primary objectives for evaluating jobs and implementing a global grade structure are to support the development and career paths of employees and to facilitate the implementation of a global pay or rewards program. Job Rotation Policy. Employee Development: Career Development Plan 2. Skills Analysis Form. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server.

Please enable scripts and reload this page. Reuse Permissions. Page Content. Scope— This article discusses the types of career paths and career ladders that an employer can use to assist employees in their career progression within the organization.

Traditional career paths and ladders are discussed, as well as nontraditional methods of career progression developed in response to changes within society, organizations and the workforce. This article does not address other aspects and methods of developing employees, managers and leaders. Overview Career paths and career ladders are two traditional methods by which an employee can develop and progress within an organization.

This article addresses the following topics related to employee career paths and ladders: The historical development of career paths. The business case for creating career paths and ladders. HR's role in the development and implementation of career paths. Developing traditional career paths and ladders. Common challenges with traditional career paths and ladders. Nontraditional methods of career progression. Career paths outside the organization.

Communications, legal concerns, metrics and global issues related to career paths and ladders. See : Introduction to the Human Resources Discipline of Organizational and Employee Development Developing Organizational Leaders Developing Management Background In the early part of the 20th century, career choice and career progression were dictated by tradition, socio-economic status, family and gender.

Traditional career ladders still exist in the 21st century, but they operate in an environment where: The labor force sees continuous, dramatic changes. The way work is organized and performed continuously evolves and changes. Traditional career paths will continue to wane. Jobs are broken down into elements, which are then outsourced. Employees are working alongside a nonemployee workforce that does not have career paths or logical career progressions and may be harder to motivate.

Workers value job enrichment, flexibility and career development more than job security and stability. Work is redesigned to accommodate increased demands for flexibility, such as telecommuting hubs, online technologies for connecting with global colleagues and virtual worlds.

Business Case Many factors influence the need for an organization to embrace formal career paths and career ladders, including: Inability to find, recruit and place the right people in the right jobs. Employee disengagement. Employee demands for greater workplace flexibility.

Lack of diversity at the top. A multigenerational workforce. Limited opportunity for advancement in flatter or smaller organizations. Organizational culture change. Making employee development a priority Although most CEOs understand the importance of employee development, most admit that they do not devote the necessary time and resources to this activity.

Benefits to the organization Aligning the employee's career goals with the strategic goals of the organization not only helps the organization achieve its goals but also helps the organization in the following ways: Differentiate itself from labor market competitors. HR's Role HR professionals have new and varied roles to play in developing and implementing career paths. When employees move up internal career ladders through internal promotions, HR can contribute to the process of moving an employee up the career ladder by: Establishing fair, workable and consistently administered promotion policies and procedures.

This includes establishing policies for posting—or not posting—available positions and the content and timing of promotion announcements. Facilitating promotions within their organizations by providing employees with career coaching, helping managers develop clear selection criteria and cushioning the blow for those not selected for promotion. Helping newly promoted employees make a smooth transition.

Helping nonselected candidates continue to strengthen their skills in expectation of future opportunities within the organization. See Helping Employees Step Up.

See Paths to the Top Developing Traditional Career Paths and Ladders Corporate-wide initiatives around career planning can be as simple as role-playing with managers on how to discuss career interests or use career mapping with their employees.

Career mapping A tool that managers and HR professionals can use during career planning discussions with employees is career mapping. Career mapping involves three steps: Self-assessment. A manager engages with the employee to explore his or her knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as past experiences, accomplishments and interests. Individualized career map. Creating an individualized career map involves identifying other positions within the organization that meet the employee's interests.

The position may be a lateral move into a different job family or a promotion. In either case, the position should capitalize on the employee's past experiences, interests and motivation while at the same time requiring the employee to develop a certain degree of new knowledge, skills and abilities KSAs to give him or her something to work toward and stay engaged.

Exploring other opportunities. The final step in career mapping is to explore other job opportunities within the organization as they become available. Traditional career ladders and career advancement strategies In a traditional career ladder system, the person is hired and, through a combination of experience, education and opportunity, is promoted to levels that encompass additional responsibility and concomitant compensation.

Rub shoulders with influential leaders. Communicate openly and directly about career aspirations. Seek visibility for their accomplishments. Let their supervisors know of their skills and willingness to contribute. Seek opportunities continually. Learn the political landscape or unwritten rules of the organization. Are not afraid to ask for help.

These profiles include: Climbers. Individuals who seek advancement in their organizations by asking for varied assignments, working long hours, networking and seeking greater visibility. Individuals who use all career tactics available to advance in and outside their current organizations.

Individuals who monitor the job market closely and are poised to change jobs, if not organizations, as opportunities arise. Individuals who do little to seek career advancement. Common challenges with traditional ladders and paths Within a traditional career ladder, several issues are likely to arise, including the following. Nontraditional Methods of Career Progression In today's business environment, many organizations are unable to advance all employees up traditional career ladders due to low turnover, limited growth or financial constraints.

Job redesign As organizations have experienced downsizing, new technologies and demographic changes, the result has been flatter organizations that provide less opportunity for career advancement via promotions.

Job rotation Job rotation is an effective method to provide job enrichment from an employee's perspective. Dual career ladders A dual career ladder is a career development plan that allows upward mobility for employees without requiring that they be placed into supervisory or managerial positions. Advantages of dual career ladders are the following: They offer employees a career path in lieu of traditional promotions to supervisory or managerial positions. They can potentially reduce turnover among valued staff by providing expanded career opportunities and pay raises.

If well managed, this type of program can encourage employees to continually develop their skills and enhance their value to the organization.

Dual career ladder programs are more common in scientific, medical, information technology and engineering fields, or in fields that typically exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: Substantial technical or professional training and expertise beyond the basic level. Rapid innovation. Credentials or licenses. Horizontal career paths The concept of horizontal career paths also called "career lattices" was introduced in many large organizations in the mid-to-late s.

The potential benefits of formal horizontal career paths include the following: For a business with many distinct functions, employees can find challenging and rewarding work, broaden their skills, and contribute in new ways when they move laterally.

For the organization, key positions can be filled with demonstrated performers. Horizontal paths can help employees who want to experiment in a related field. Structured programs also help employees quickly understand how their job fits into the overall success of the organization and how they can meet their professional goals at their current workplaces.

Lateral career paths may help attract and retain employees from younger generations. Organizations with successful lateral career programs share several common characteristics, including: Employee development is part of the culture and beyond training courses to include rotational assignments or temporary assignments in other functions, roles or locations.

Compensation is not reduced from the current level, but employees in developmental roles may not receive the same bonuses or merit increases when making a lateral move.

However, t here is no one off-the-shelf product for career development. Career Development programs should be tailored. C areer development programs, as with employee development programs, must be nuanced and tailored to individual needs and stages of career. This research highlights why development practices are sometimes not well received by employees. Career development initiatives need to be sufficiently nuanced to appeal to those from all three perspectives.

It needs to be flexible so that employees can choose the degree to which they want to be involved in career development while still meeting the minimum growth and development that the organisation requires from its staff to remain nimble and adaptable to the changing market conditions.

Uncertainty and its relevance to career development. As the world of work continues to change at a rapid rate, it is clear that w e will not return to the zenith of employment security reached in the mid 21 st century.

In fact, I argue that many people still underestimate the degree of uncertainty that constitutes a modern career and that t he ability to thrive in this uncertainty will define success in the next century for both organisations and their employees. Take, for example, the automation of work. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and connectivity is radically altering how work is performed.

Mining automation is a great example where trucks are being remotely controlled from thousands of kilometres away in the comfort of an air-conditioned office, substantially altering the role of the truck operator.

This poses a challenge to the individuals whose roles are automated what do I do now? These trends mean that individuals can no longer expect clearly identifiable career paths mapped out by their organisation, adding to the sense of uncertainty in their career s.

The downsizing and delayering strategies of the s have continued and the decade saw a significant number of multi-national companies collapse for example, Enron and Lehman Brothers. You can improve your advising by:. You can improve your appraisal skills by:. You can improve your referral agent skills by:. Skip to main content.