Top continuing education programs for professional development

Many organizations that practice corporate wellness strategies encourage their employees to pursue certificate courses, workshops or seminars with the goal of fostering individual and overall success. This past week we’ve kicked off graduation season by highlighting the top career paths in a variety of fields including business, psychology and liberal arts, nursing and education. To help our students and long-time professionals plan ahead, we’ve put together a list of continuing education opportunities to help them keep up with evolving workforce demands.

Enhance your skills with professional development 

As we move forward into the future, let’s take some time to reflect upon our successes and set new goals to achieve. Whatever position or industry you are in there are professional development options are out there to help you always perform your best. Here are a few to consider:

For business professionals

All organizations have leadership and management structures naturally built into their systems that are designed to drive individual and overall prosperity. Many schools provide extended studies programs that help people develop the skills needed to become visionaries in their fields. Project managers for example may consider taking courses to refine the facilitation of different processes that are vital to deliver final results. Most programs are available year around online to allow professionals to study at their own pace and apply principles to their current job.

The top educational institutions that provide such programs have developed extensive networks and relationships with associations in the industry to ensure curriculum aligns with workforce needs. University of Massachusetts Global is one that provides exam preparation courses and certificates to human resources professionals by working directly with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and Professionals In Human Resources Association (PIHRA). This seamless connection makes sure that students’ professional careers are enriched with cutting edge concepts for application.

For educators

The field of education is one that often requires specific credentials in order to move up in a school, district or related environment. Continuing education programs in this case are generally standard, and educators have an added benefit of often attaining academic credit for their development classes. A single course on Preventing Bullying in the Classroom for instance may help seasoned professionals analyze the issues involved with school bullying and teach them how to create a prevention plan for their learning environments. And the best part is that students generally don’t need to go through the process of formally applying to a university in order to take the single class, which makes it simple.

There are also more broad options that teachers and education leaders can pursue such as Advanced Strategies for Professional Development, which helps develop and deliver standard and custom courses to support professionals, schools, districts and organizations. Common core is one of the hottest topics in the industry right now and some colleges and universities offer chances to study the concepts to help prepare teachers for the future. Other opportunities in this area include courses for administrators and instructional designers that are intended to enhance local public and private school communities.

For health care and liberal sciences

We’ve explored just how interconnected liberal arts and sciences degrees can be to various career opportunities and industries, which is why we have placed these two categories together in this post. For psychology grads who help counsel children and families in emotional challenges, programs that teach them to utilize artistic strategies with patients for emotional outlets may be extremely valuable. There are learning options for these amazing professionals through continuing education programs.

There are also programs for the dedicated registered nurses and physicians assistants out there who want to enrich their careers by contracting out their services in the legal realm. In a single online class health care professionals can learn the fundamental skills needed to advise law firms, industry providers, insurance companies and governmental agencies regarding medically related issues. They may even appear in court settings and serve as expert witnesses to specialized topics. It is important to note, that individuals looking for a legal nurse consultant training course should do their research to make sure their selection is approved for professional development by the state boards.

More career insights

Continuing education divisions are some of the most flexible and innovative segments within formal academic institutions. University of Massachusetts Global’s School of Extended Education actually offers custom programming on site at organizations headquarters and offices to provide solutions that are specific to their strategic goals and workforce needs. Check with your preferred education provider to find out if they make similar options available to you and your company then dig deeper by researching courses and programs that can help you move forward along your career path.