Upskilling is a great way to support your career development, and the Rising Star Awards can provide young people in print with grants of up to £1500 to help with that upskilling. However, it can be confusing to know where to start. To help, we’ve listed ways to find your skills gaps, and how to fill them in.
Your current employer
A good place to start is your current job role and thinking about what aspects of your day would be improved with better knowledge. For instance, could you benefit from an Excel refresher? Or a presentation skills course?
Have a discussion with your employer or HR to talk about possible progression, and see if they have any advice on where you could improve. This could be a great opportunity to get some constructive feedback on your performance so far, while identifying the areas that could be developed further. They may even be able to suggest where to get extra training and lend a helpful ear as to whether or not they feel the course is beneficial.
Job adverts
Another route could be to look at job adverts for roles you like the sound of. Identify where your potential knowledge gaps are, and search for courses or training that could help bridge the gap.
Online resources
The Skills Health Check from the National Careers Service is a fantastic resource. The service has a range of multiple choice quizzes to help you see which skills in your arsenal are stronger, and where you could improve. Once you finish each quiz, you’re provided a report with a further breakdown of your results and even suggest job roles for you based on your answers.
Talk to people
Speaking with colleagues, friends or family is a great way to generate ideas, after all, they know you better than anyone else. Ask them what comes to mind when they think of your strengths and weaknesses, or give examples of when you used particular skills well.
If you’re aged 18-30, working in the wider print industry and have identified where you want to upskill you can apply to be a Rising Star. Winners receive funding of up to £1500 towards courses or training needed to reach their career goals. Applications open at the start of February; sign up to our newsletter to be first to hear how to apply.