Learning new skills comes with a number of benefits, both personal and professional, that’s why some people will go an extra mile to invest in learning and acquiring knowledge. A skill set is a combination of abilities, qualities and experiences you can apply to perform tasks well. These can include soft skills such as interpersonal skills, organisation and leadership as well as technical skills like research, computer programming, accounting writing and more, according to Indeed Career Guide. Skills can help you be better at your job, earn a new job or promotion and take on new projects. Some people standout because of extra skills and most job recruiters are looking for employees with unique skills in addition to academic qualifications. Soft skills may include; Leadership, motivation, creativity, decision making, teamwork, time management, communication, among others. Examples of hard skills are; event planning, graphic design, foreign language fluency, information technology, marketing, presentation, writing management, and others. Steps to achieving more skills Jessica Uwase, a communications specialist says that learning any new skills requires planning. For her, you need to identify a new skill you want to learn, and give yourself a specific period of time to break down how to execute it and what is necessary to learn the skill and how much it will cost. Once you have the details, she urges you to start on it already. She discourages learning more than one skill at a time as there is a possibility of losing focus for all, but rather advises first accomplishing one, and learn others later. Uwase explains that you ought to read books to connect, educate, inform, and introduce yourself to new tools, and skills. ‘There is a lot to learn from books once one spares time to read.’ She also explains that you can also learn a new skill from your place of work through taking part in different projects. ‘There is surely something you can learn from your colleagues at work, from different departments.’ Uwase emphasises to make sure you opt for a skill that is needed on the market, in your profession. Learning something that is required at your workplace gives you the opportunity to take part in different tasks, but also, your bosses may be willing to finance the course. She says that gaining a new skill is an investment that will pay off with time. She urges getting a mentor or someone that is good at the skill to evaluate you and give you feedback. “The best way to learn is through practice, whatever you have learned, share it with your team or colleagues.” For Brian Mugisha, a sales and marketing expert, sometimes all you need to do is to emulate someone. Get someone who inspires you and learn something from them, how they do what they do, and learning such qualities from them may make you a better person. He says that you can spare time and interact with other people, that way, you learn new ideas, and communicate with others, but also take part in conferences about topics of your interest, you can’t leave such trainings the way you came. Mugisha points out that volunteering is key at your place of work; partake in new challenges, grab every opportunity that can make you learn something new. He heartens enrolling for online programs, especially advancing in related programs, to improve on your understanding about things in your domain. Alternatively, he adds that you can take part in internal training, if you’re not sure about them, ask your supervisor on the kind of training that the company offers and how they will assist you benefit in your career growth.
