Authored By: Christon Valdivieso

Edited By: Afton Knight

Pop Quiz!

Question 1: If a close friend of family member needed a reasonable amount of money to take a class to help them succeed at work, would you lend it to them?

 

Question 2: If possible, would you start an education savings account for your children?

 

Question 3: Which would you prefer, a doctor that has completed continuing education over the past decade or one that has not?

 

Take a look at these three question, is it realistic to believe that the majority of people A) find it reasonable to give money so that others to help them better themselves, and B) are more willing to give money (at least to friends and family) for education? However, according to the National Center for Education Statistics for 2001, only 46% of adults 16 years or older participated in continuing education (college, work-related courses, vocational programs, etc). For the record, this number dropped to 44% in 2005 according to the same organization. Of this population only 27 percent (2005 numbers) participated in work-related courses. Presumably, most people want a doctor who has taken continuing education in the last decade, but why? The human body has not had any significant evolutions in the last 100 years, why does it matter if doctors refresh their education. The answer is simple: because technology and advancements have been made and doctors should know about it. Why then does the general working population not impose this same value on themselves?

 

Recently I went back to school to obtain my masters for global logistic/supply chain. In one of my classes the professor asked, “…given the data, how many employees do we need to hire to run this example operation?” Having had almost a decade running front line operations I did the math in my head and responded, “Technically you need 19, but to accommodate for holidays, sick time, fatigue, etc. you need about 24 associates.” After 30 minutes of setting up a model and solving it turned out the answer was 23. Later we created another model to help determine a schedule. Imagine if I could have done this when I was running an operation. If I could have provided my leadership team a method for determining employee levels or created a model to develop schedules! I could have saved hours of my time and possibly saved thousands of dollars on recruiting and labor by staffing correctly.

 

On a simpler level, if you are seeking a new job in 2016 or 2017, when was the last time you wrote a resume? Take a class. Do you know how to effectively use job search tools? Take a class. Are you seeking a promotion but lack the technological skills? Take a class.

 

Having said all this, I supply this thought: If you could increase your value and/or marketability, would you commit to taking a class in 2017?

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/csvaldivieso