Embracing a Career Change in the New Year
Another year is about to end, and you might be considering a career change. A new year can mean a fresh start and wanting better career possibilities. You could be changing your career path for many reasons.
Are you feeling less fulfilled in your role? Do you want more responsibilities and to use your skills in a higher position? Or you might want a bit of extra money for your savings! Alternatively, you might want to progress into a manager role. All of these are reasons why someone would decide to change their career.
It might not be as drastic as completely moving sectors; it may be as simple as taking a CPD course or becoming an assessor. In this blog, we’ll explore the reasons behind a career change, the essential steps for a successful transition, and the numerous benefits that await those brave enough to pursue meaningful work.
Common Reasons to Change Jobs
There are a variety of elements and factors that come together to influence your decision to change jobs. It’s important to understand why you want to shift jobs and how knowing so will help you in the end.
Furthermore, the decision to start a new career often stems from various motivations rooted in personal and professional fulfilment.
Salary
The importance of financial factors frequently plays a crucial role in making career decisions. There’s no denying the relationship between career satisfaction and pay. If your pay no longer matches your expectations or the value you offer, this will be a driving force behind changing careers.
Not only that, but if the pay doesn’t align with your long-term objectives and you don’t take care of your bills, you might want to think about changing your career.
Job Satisfaction
One of the most important first steps in considering a career shift is assessing your current level of job satisfaction. You should think for a moment about your daily job experiences, your degree of involvement, and the overall satisfaction you get from your current position. This is to determine whether your current position meets your professional and personal expectations. It’s essential to conduct a self-evaluation.
Moreover, understanding these experiences can form the basis for your incentives to improve. Finding parts of your current work that don’t satisfy you can help you make a more focused and satisfying change.
Work Flexibility
It has become essential to be able to adjust work schedules, locations, and how we work in today’s fast-paced and constantly changing world. Recognising the value of flexibility means realising how it enhances overall well-being, job satisfaction, and a better work-life balance.
A strong incentive for a more harmonious work-life balance is to change careers to those that allow you to have flexible work schedules. This could be in the form of remote work or reduced work weeks.
Changing Goals
One of the most important components of self-awareness is understanding the natural development of shifting personal priorities and objectives. As you progress through different stages of life, your goals, values, and sense of what’s important can change. Determining if your present employment choices fit the goals you’re trying to achieve is essential.
Moreover, people who are thinking about changing careers frequently look for jobs that align with their aspirations. In addition to focusing on career success, it also helps you become satisfied with your personal goals.
Benefits of a Career Change
A career move provides opportunities for ongoing education and growth. New responsibilities frequently present new challenges that help you learn and grow. This ongoing improvement aids in your personal growth in addition to enhancing your professional talents.
A change in your career path often exposes you to new professional environments and offers chances to extend your horizons. Giving you experience in various sectors, processes, and workplace cultures. Which will give you a broad range of skills. Gaining new talents helps you become more marketable and develops your adaptability.
Professional Development
Partaking in professional development provides you with the new challenge of learning new abilities. Which improves your versatility within the workplace. This broad skillset not only enhances your competent skills but also establishes you as a valuable and well-rounded asset in the job market.
Become an Assessor
One way to change your career is to become an assessor. Becoming an assessor means you can take apprentices through their NVQ qualifications within the subject area in which you’re competent. For example, if you have the experience and qualifications as a plumber, you can take plumbing apprentices through!
Working as an assessor is a really good way to move your career to the next level. You don’t have to learn something completely new; you can use your already-learned skills to help the next generation of the workforce. Becoming an assessor works well if you want a better work-life balance and better pay.
How do I become an Assessor?
If you want to be a fully qualified assessor, then you need to take the Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, or CAVA for short. To become an assessor, you also need occupational competence in your area of expertise.
The CAVA qualification allows you to assess learners in their place of work and their learning environment. The course is made up of 3 units with a mix of blended learning. Unit 1 is the theory unit. The second unit is the practical session, where you observe two learners. Finally, the last unit is more theory, taking place in the learning environment.
Already an Assessor?
If you’re already a fully qualified assessor, there are a few other options you can take! First, if you haven’t already, you can complete the Education and Training course. The Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) is the one you’d need. This qualification goes hand in hand with the CAVA. The AET qualification lets you teach adult learners in a variety of settings, such as classrooms, online, or workshops.
Next, we have the IQA qualification. If you want to contribute to the standardisation and quality assurance of assessments, then taking the Internal Quality Assurance qualification is for you. Having an IQA qualification can increase your responsibilities and increase your pay!
Next Steps?
What are your next steps? We’ve gone through a few reasons why you’d change your career, the benefits of changing, and a few routes for how you can change. Now the hard work is up to you! Decide which route you want to go down and take that first step into changing your career.
Maybe we can help. If you’re thinking of becoming an assessor, tutor, or IQA, then we can help advise on the best qualification for you! It’s quick and easy to get in touch with our team; you can contact us either by email at training@brooksandkirk.ac.uk or by phone at 01205 805 155.