Benefits of professional development courses following redundancy

The pandemic has had a profound impact on the economy and has damaged a number of sectors across the UK. Many people’s jobs have been impacted as a result, and businesses continue to be disrupted by new restrictions and localised lockdowns. If you’ve been made redundant or are struggling to find employment, it can be hard to know where to turn. But it can be extremely beneficial to use this period of downtime in which to reskill and improve your employability, by undertaking a professional development course.

Retrain & reskill

Being unemployed can be very stressful, but you can also use the free time to your benefit. If you’ve always thought about branching into a new line of work, but haven’t had the time to retrain, or would like to apply for a managerial role but need the credentials to do so, now could be the time to focus on your own professional development. There are a host of courses available online which will allow you to maintain or improve your skillset, gaining a qualification in your chosen course of study. This is invaluable as it will help prove that you’re more than capable of carrying out the job that you’re aspiring to do.

Maintain a routine

There are many benefits to undertaking professional development courses if you’ve been made redundant - a huge one being that it keeps your mind occupied while you’re out of work. Being unemployed – especially if you’ve worked in a steady job for many years – can be very unsettling as it knocks you out of your usual routine. Getting up each day to study will help motivate you and bring more structure to your day. Learning new skills and gaining qualifications will also keep your mind active and allow you to feel a sense of reward and achievement. It can be easy to quickly fall into bad habits when you have no plans for the day ahead, but online learning can help you keep a ‘work’ frame of mind, in order to bridge the gap between now and your next job. Also, working with a coach / tutor on one of our programmes can help to give you a different outlook and new perspective to the four walls you might be looking at.

Flexible learning

At the Academy of Leadership and Management, we know that one size does not fit all. Our range of online courses offer great flexibility, allowing you to focus and learn at a time that suits you, wherever you may be. All of our courses are part time, so if you sign up to a six month course, but want to fast track and do it in three, it is possible. That means that if you land a new job halfway through a course, you can accelerate the training or even pause it for a later date. Also, you can pay for your course in instalments, easing the cost for you at what might be a difficult time.

Professional development courses UK

At the Academy of Leadership and Management, we focus on developing leaders, managers, coaches, mentors and business advisers through practical work-based and distance learning programmes. All our courses lead to globally-recognised qualifications from an awarding body, such as ILM or the Small Firms Development Initiative (SFEDI). We are also an Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs (IOEE) approved academy.

If you’ve been made redundant and are looking to reskill, you may be eligible for funding. Check your national (or devolved nation) website for further details. The Academy of Leadership & Management offers interest free instalment payment plans for all our courses. We are also an approved ELCAS provider for personnel leaving the UK armed forces.

Click here to visit our online courses section and find what’s right for you.