Have you been working towards a goal, only to find that the goalposts have suddenly shifted?
With job numbers plummeting by 37,500 in April as the economic impact of COVID-19 is felt across the country, many of us have been forced to step back and reassess our goals.
In this period of uncertainty, many Kiwis are choosing to enrol with eCampus in order to retool for a new career, upskill for the ‘new normal’, or prepare for a confident re-entry into the workforce.
The jobs and livelihoods of some of our new learners have been directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Sudden unemployment can be devastating for individuals and families, and eCampus NZ Facilitator Team Leader Michelle Allwright is inspired by these learners’ determination to use their time out of the workforce to their advantage. Throughout her career, she has seen many learners use education to create opportunity out of adversity.
To those considering a career transition due to changes in the employment landscape, Michelle is quick to point out that entering a new profession does not have to involve starting from scratch. Instead, it can be used as an opportunity to capitalise on the skills you already have. “The best advice I can give is that you need to take a moment to reflect on what you’re good at and what you enjoy. Think about the skills you already have and consider how you might build on them,” says Michelle.
Michelle herself chose to retrain in business and commerce after many years in healthcare. Before making this decision, Michelle reflected on the many skills she already had. “Nursing is about people, people management and caring,” she says. “I knew I would be able to take the skills of empathy, time management, effective listening, and interpersonal skills into my future career.”
If you have specific career goals in mind, working towards a certificate or diploma qualification with eCampus NZ may be your next step. Learning can be key to gaining professional confidence, says Michelle, “Once you start, you may be surprised at how much you already know.”
eCampus NZs’ online qualifications are developed in collaboration with industry, making them well suited to learners who want to develop workplace-specific knowledge and skills. Course content is designed so it can be directly applied in a professional setting, making our courses perfect for those who want to gain practical experience which they’ll be able to take into their next job.
A large proportion of our course facilitators currently work in the industries and professions they are preparing learners to join, such as accountancy, human resources, IT, and business management. This allows facilitators to help learners to develop industry–specific skills. Additionally, eCampus NZ student advisors support the development of transferable skills such as time-management, scheduling, and goal setting.
If you’re only one or two key skills away from achieving your career goals, you may be interested in our range of short online courses, including our new IT Certification Training courses, which are designed to help learners prepare for exams which certify their IT skills. The courses simulate a realistic work environment, giving you the opportunity to practise using IT hardware, operating systems, and software. These skills are becoming increasingly important as we live more and more of our professional lives online.
While many of us are facing challenges we could never have imagined only a few months ago, there is no doubt that adversity can create learning opportunities. Over the past few months, New Zealanders have demonstrated our resilience, community-mindedness, determination, and the ability to adapt. These are all attributes that we’ll carry with us as life slowly returns to normal and we begin to look towards our new personal and professional goals.
If you’ve decided that now is the time to upskill and invest in your future self, contact us at [email protected] and let us help you achieve your new goals.