October 22, 2024
Professional Development through Professional Certification
The end of the year is coming quickly and with it a flurry of performance reviews, including the writing of professional development plans.
Across our system, these vary considerably. A plan for a new employee might include learning the dynamics of the K-State Research and Extension system. An experienced extension employee might focus on a highly specialized plan with well-defined objectives.
Professional development plans have many benefits and, when well thought out, they provide a sense of direction for a person’s performance and career. They help improve communications and engagement with colleagues and supervisors. But most of all, well-developed plans create the growth that we all need as professionals that creates a sense of accomplishment and enables us to enjoy our careers.
When constructing professional development plans, it helps to be detailed and not just list a number of conferences or workshops that might be planned for the upcoming year. Thinking about yourself as a professional and breaking down your strengths and areas for development can help you identify defined areas to pursue.
Professional certifications are very good at providing growth to individuals and serve as a formal recognition of a person’s expertise. The courses offered through certifications tend to be highly focused on subject matter or corresponding skills. Appropriately maintaining a certification process typically ensures individuals are current on new knowledge.
Many universities and colleges offer certification programs, including K-State (https://catalog.k-state.edu/content.php?catoid=59&navoid=11837), but there are also plenty of opportunities outside the university system that an extension professional can pursue.
We have several employees that continue to keep a teaching certificate. There are employees on the agriculture side that have certified crop advisor (CCA) qualifications, and several employees maintain health care certifications. The technology field has dozens of opportunities for anyone with an interest, and certification in human resources would be useful to anyone with supervisory responsibilities.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the credential system for facilitation skills (https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/program-areas/supporting-communities/facilitation/) in our own organization. Educators that have been through this training are in high demand. The skills learned can be useful in any area our faculty and staff choose.
As you think about your future, consider a professional certification that supports your career through subject matter knowledge or complimentary skills. Go ahead and do a search for an area that interests you and see what opportunities are there for you to discover.