Career Development

As written in the report of Career Perspectives:

‘’Career growth has become a crucial aspect of employee retention and engagement, as employees seek to enhance their skills, knowledge, and experience to advance in their careers. Career growth is not only essential for employees' personal development but also benefits organisations in the long run, as it fosters a culture of continuous learning and development, and contributes to the achievement of organisational objectives.(...) Career growth also includes opportunities to take on new and challenging roles, work on complex projects, attend training programmes, and receive feedback and mentoring from supervisors or colleagues.’’

Furthermore, career development can be seen as either vertical or horizontal growth. The former involves climbing the hierarchical/organisational ladder, the latter being either a broadening of skills and experience within the same function/department or rather implying a transfer to a different job position/department.

Why is it important to focus on career growth?

There are several reasons why organisations should have a clear plan for the career growth of their employees:

• Retention: employees who see clear opportunities for career growth within an organization are more likely to stay with that organization. This can reduce turnover and the costs associated with recruiting and training new employees.

• Motivation: employees who are given opportunities for career growth are often more motivated and engaged in their work. They are more likely to be productive, take on new challenges, and contribute to the success of the organization.

• Talent development: a clear plan for career growth can help organizations identify and develop talented employees. By providing training and development opportunities, organizations can help their employees build skills and knowledge that will benefit both the employee and the organization.

• Succession planning: having a clear plan for career growth can help organizations prepare for future leadership changes. By identifying and developing employees with leadership potential, organizations can ensure a smooth transition of leadership when the time comes.

• Competitive advantage: in today's competitive job market, organizations that offer clear career growth opportunities are often more attractive to job seekers. This can help organizations attract and retain top talent, which can be a significant competitive advantage.

1. Delve into the ‘development path for young professionals’
   To have a more structured overview of the available personal and career development possibilities within the UG, we sat down with colleagues from the HR department to delineate a 'development path for young professionals'.
   More information on this will be available soon.

2. Attend additional courses
   We set up additional courses in English such as the Career orientation course for professional staff, together with HR colleagues, and the Language Buddy Programme.

3. Make use of our new UFO-profile tool
   Have you ever wondered what other people do with the same UFO-profile as yourself? Or do you wonder how UFO-profiles translate to real world jobs at the university? We are creating an UFO-profile tool to provide you with an overview. This can help you when considering next steps in your career. 
   The tool will be available soon.