10 Ways to Gain New Skills

CHOOSE YOUR COURSE WITH

BITDEGREE

FIND OUT MORE

The world is a lot more competitive today. It is a do or die situation for many companies
and industries where they either need to keep up with the changing landscape or risk
losing market share to competitors.

While it is easy to be comfortable and complacent in our personal lives, the same cannot
be said of our career.

Many of us have a skill set that matches our current job. However, the benefits of
improving your skills are valuable.

You can achieve more in your current position or receive a promotion, or even change
careers if the need arose.

Complacency in your career might result in you being overlooked for opportunities and not
being valued as a vital member of an organization.

There is a range of learning opportunities that are easily accessible and many different
options you can learn from, such as workplace training, online learning, and workshops,
podcasts, webinars, networking, mentors, and more.

Consider your existing transferable skills, the skill gap you would like to fill, find how you
can learn new skills, challenge yourself and boost your career.

Why Is It Important to Develop New Skills?

Learning is a good thing both personally and professionally, and improving your skills and
knowledge has never been easier.

Professionally, it is an indispensable tool for maintaining our competitiveness in the

workplace and the job market if we need a career change.

The benefits of ongoing learning are:

1. Being prepared for a career change in an uncertain job market

2. Remaining competitive and indispensable to your organization

3. You can add them to your professional profile (such as LinkedIn, etc.) so you are
headhunted

4. Improving your confidence and challenge yourself

5. Being innovative when finding solutions and forging new connections

6. Increasing efficiency and improving the way you work

 7. Increased motivation and a more exciting work day

8. Improved mental agility and flexibility, helping you to be more adaptable to change

9. Taking on new roles

10. Increased entrepreneurship opportunities

What Are the Top New Skills You Might Want

to Develop?

The workplace is continually changing and evolving to suit demand, consumer needs,
sales and growth.

The skills needed for the future will be significantly different from those being used in the
workforce today.

Below is a list of skills that our workforce will need in the future.

You can read more about some of them here.

1. Data skills
2. Digital literacy
3. Complex problem solving
4. Sales and marketing
5. Judgment and decision-making
6. Cognitive flexibility and a growth mindset
7. Leadership skills
8. Creative and critical thinking
9. Interpersonal skills
10. Diversity and cultural intelligence
When choosing which skill you would like to learn or improve, consider where you might
have a skill gap and focus on that.

For example, you might consider enhancing your diversity and cultural intelligence by
learning a second language, or you might want to brush up on your technical skills by
learning more about Excel, programming or working with AI.

Above all, you want to be sure that you are flexible and can adapt well to change and that
you have a career plan.

How to Gain New Skills

Before you choose how to learn new skills, think about how you learn best and set
yourself some goals.

Some learn by reading, others by talking or watching something, some learn best through
a 'hands-on' experience.

If you choose someone else to help, make sure you are comfortable with that person and
they have the knowledge and skill set you need.

Here are the top 10 ways you can gain new skills:

1. On-the-Job Training

Many workplaces offer upskilling and training days for their staff to acquire new skills on-
the-job.

Be sure to sign up and attend any expert talks or relevant training days.
You can also gain new skills and knowledge at work by working on new challenges or
projects. By helping out in a new area, you will inadvertently learn something new.

2. Traditional Training or Workshops

Some organizations encourage and often pay for their employees to pick up new skills.

They appreciate when their employees proactively seek further training to expand their
skill set and would be willing to invest in your training.

3. Online Courses or E-Learning

If your schedule or organization doesn’t allow you to attend training courses or if there are
none suitable in your area, there are many online learning and training opportunities.

The benefits of online learning are that there are many low-cost options such as Coursera,
Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, Codeacademy, Duolingo or Google’s Analytics Academy, and
more.

It can be very tempting to learn from multiple sources or sign up for too many courses, but
this can feel overwhelming fast. Stay focused and work towards achieving your end goal.

A tip with online learning – make sure you check the credentials of the course you are
taking to make sure you learn and gain skills that will be recognized professionally. If you
can get a formal certification on completion, that would be ideal.
4. Shadow Senior Staff

Your co-workers or more senior colleagues will have skills, tips and training that would be
useful for you.

Ask to work alongside them on a project, shadow them or find out how they gained their
skill set.

5. Webinars and Podcasts

If there is something you want to learn about – the internet has the information you need.

There are YouTube videos, live videos, webinars or podcasts on pretty much any topic,
and they are all very accessible, even if you have no prior knowledge.
Webinars and live videos are often on-demand or live, and YouTube, podcasts or other
instructional videos can be streamed at any time.

Check if any experts in your field are offering a webinar or podcast and be sure to tune in.
As you listen, take some notes to remember the details and areas you want to follow up
on.

6. Work With a Mentor and Be a Mentor

Finding and working with a mentor is a valuable way to gain new skills and knowledge.

If you enjoy your workplace and want to proceed further in the organization, finding a
company mentor would be very beneficial.

A good mentor will help you navigate the various challenges you face and provide you
with guidance on your next steps.

In many ways, a mentor is like having a teacher or parent in the workforce; they will give
you real feedback and guidance to advance your career and encourage you to gain new
experiences.

It is also useful to offer to be a mentor to more junior colleagues. Finding a promising

protégé can expose you to new skills and techniques in your field (as they might have
trained more recently than you) and help you practice your own skills while teaching.

7. Read or Listen to a Variety of Books or Blogs

You can read more about the area you work for, the company you work for and their
competitors. Check who the experts in your field are and read their books.

By staying informed, you can provide solutions to challenges your company may face.
If you are looking to change careers or gain experience outside your current specialty, the
internet is full of knowledge and experts willing to share their knowledge.

Books remain a valuable information source. Many can be downloaded to a preferred

device to read wherever you are. You can also listen to specialist books in your area of
interest. Audiobooks are very popular as you can listen to them while commuting or
completing other tasks.

8. Network

Traditional networking methods such as industry events or joining a professional

association are generally useful for meeting new people and forming connections.

However, networking internally with colleagues can help if you want to find out about
different jobs and sectors in your organization.

Get to know your co-workers in other teams, offices and departments and find out more
about their skills and the jobs they perform.

Ask them about the skills and knowledge they use and see if you can help out with their
projects to grow your skill set and expertise.

Any new person you meet or get to know can teach you something – they can inspire a
new innovative idea for your work, teach you a more efficient way to complete a task,
reignite your motivation, and you can even learn from their mistakes.

9. Volunteer or Apply for an Internship

For certain types of skill development, volunteer work is an ideal way to gain experience
and knowledge. It is very hands-on, which makes learning a lot easier, and you are also
helping your community.
If you are looking to develop skills and knowledge in a specific career or industry, an
internship is one of the best ways to gain experience.

You will also gain valuable insights into the industry and connect with people previously
outside your social network, helping you form connections.

Both volunteering and internships enable you to step outside your comfort zone and allow
you to meet new people and gain new skills and insights.

10. Share Your Knowledge

You learn better when you teach others. You can run a training session at your workplace,
start a blog, do freelance work or create a discussion group.

Writing for a blog will let you build on your existing knowledge and allows you to share any
new knowledge you are learning.

If you have recently learned about a new topic, leading a discussion group will open up
conversations and give you insights from others in the same field.

Once you are more confident in your skills, you can use them in the freelance marketplace
and gain more experience to help your career.

Tips for Success When Learning a New Skill

Set yourself up for success with these key tips:

Improve your time management. You need to make the time you spend learning a
new skill or gaining new knowledge efficient. Use schedule apps or make a small daily
or weekly to-do list with a few achievable goals. Learn how to prioritize tasks and keep
on top of your deadlines, but be realistic about how much you can do and be sure to
 allocate time for your personal life.

Time Management Course with BitDegree

Improve your soft skills. Effectively communicating with others and being
personable is an easy way to get to know other people and gain skills and knowledge
through your interactions.

Brush up your general IT skills. Aside from gaining new skills and knowledge, you
must have good digital skills and be aware of new and emerging digital technologies
in the workplace that can help you work better and protect your job for the future.

Identify your skills and knowledge gap. Whether you are looking to gain a specific
skill for your career or learn something unrelated, you need to identify the skills and
knowledge you want to acquire. If it is specific to your career, you can ask your
colleagues, management or mentor. If it is to do with a career change, look over job
descriptions of a job you would like to have and identify your missing skills.

Set some goals. learning a new skill can be motivating, but an end goal or career
plan is essential to keep you going. Setting short, medium and long-term goals is a
necessary part of your development and will give you an idea of the route you need to
take to get there.

Final Thoughts

Learning can be overwhelming, so start small and choose one or two things to focus on so
that your goals are manageable.

As you progress through your learning, set some time aside for reflection so that you can
think about and fully absorb your new skills and knowledge and decide what you still need
to learn.
Learning a new skill doesn’t happen overnight. Typically, it takes about six months to learn
a new skill.

Expanding your knowledge and skill set is an essential requirement in most industries
rather than a choice. You can choose not to, but often this may result in you becoming
uncompetitive or overlooked for promotions and new opportunities.

So whether you are looking for a promotion, a new job in the same industry or a complete
career change, you will be much more successful if you add to your skills.

Upskilling throughout your career shows that you are an individual who is keen to develop
yourself and your career continuously.

CHOOSE YOUR COURSE WITH

BITDEGREE

FIND OUT MORE