Personal development plan

Introduction

This report will present the importance of academic and professional skills for a career in business and management and why it is important to have a Personal Development Plan.

It will present what skills and Personal Development Plan are, how will they help advancing a student’s career in business and management, what is the best approach to personal learning and what measures need to be taken in implementing changes, and how the developed skills will be transferable in the work environment.

University brings along a lot of challenges that might become overwhelming. Starting courses is a new chapter of everyone’s life, it is a good way of organising a future professional career and it is very important to be sure of the best choice because is a way to ensure that someone combines pleasure with usefulness. When you practice what you like, in what you already have skills, all you must do is improve your skills or grind new strategies.

Definitions

As a simple definition in the business English dictionary, a skill is ”a particular ability that you develop through training and experience and that is useful in a job”. (Anon., 2020).

People have many qualities, but those who choose to follow the courses of higher education institutions acquire new skills or improve those they already have.

Skills refer both to what someone has learned during their life and to the abilities with which they were born (talent) which bring a plus in accomplishing certain tasks. Therefore, competence refers to the appropriate skills, abilities and behaviors, all of which lead to performance.

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) is “the process of creating an action plan based on awareness, reflection, goal-setting and planning development within the context of a career, education, or for self-improvement.” (Smith, 2011).

A PDP will include a portfolio of skills, a statement of aspirations, strengths, education, lifestyle prioritise, and steps showing how the plan will be realized.

How university will help a student’s career in Business Management

No matter how long you wanted to attend university, once you get there everything will become an amalgam of emotions and fears, but through study and active learning, years of study will successfully lead to the implementation of what you have learned. (Burns and Sinfield, 2016).

As Cottrell (2015) argues, with the help of universities, students develop skills associated with the courses they take, but it is not enough. That is why students are encouraged to take part in new activities, to get in touch with people of all kinds and to take on responsibilities in voluntary activities.

The development of abilities and skills must be present in the professional activity of each employee. This development refers to a continuous process of perfecting skills and abilities, because they will help in the future to achieve improvement in a team, as well as in an organization. PDP are often required for the employee CV, mostly for employees who are participating in business training.

A higher education PDP will typically include the skills gained over a timeframe. Is important to have a PDP because it will help to: work effectively, achieve goals, prepare for future changes, use opportunities available and keep yourself updated.

In 2010, Butler and Gheorghiu sustained that the value of teaching should improve and become less traditional, gathering accumulation of knowledge, instead of higher order skills, like team working, is not enough because things are constantly changing, work environment is becoming tougher and the needs of a student to engage a business management career should start in university, to become more sure of the path they want to follow and what real life as a business manager means.