Advantage

LESSON 9

Career Development

In this lesson you will practice your reading comprehension and extend your vocabulary related to the topic of Career Development.

Pobierz lekcję w formacie PDF

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Revision from the last lesson:

Explain the following words in English and Polish:

retain

level off

plunge

deteriorate

plummet

 

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Describe the chart below using the following words: fluctuate, reach a peak, drop. The chart represents the unemployment rate in Poland between 2001 ? 2009.

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LESSON 9

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

 

READING AND VOCABULARY EXERCISE

BEFORE YOU READ: THINK AND ANSWER!

• How important is Career Development for you?
• How important is Career Development for your company?
• Do you agree with the statement that Career Development is ?the least important function of HR??

Read the first two paragraphs of the text and decide which paragraph contains this information.

1. Career paths and retirement planning have been ceded to individuals.
2. Company structures are downsizing.
3. Planning career development by individuals triggers more interesting work life.
4. Necessity to keep abreast with knowledge and changes.
5. Need to take responsibility for own career development.

[key]

1. Career paths and retirement planning have been ceded to individuals. ? paragraph 2
2. Company structures are downsizing. ? paragraph 1.
3. Planning career development by individuals triggers more interesting work life. ? paragraph 2
4. Necessity to keep abreast with knowledge and changes. ? paragraph 1.
5. Need to take responsibility for own career development. ? paragraph 1.

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1. There is an increasing need for individuals to take charge of the development of their own learning and careers for a variety of reasons: There is increasing rate of change of our organizations and in the knowledge and skills we need to perform our jobs. Career ladders are rapidly shrinking or disappearing as reorganizations lead to flatter structures. There is an ever-increasing need for us to keep learning to keep up with the [tooltip][phrase]rapid[/phrase][def]rapid
fast or sudden / szybki, nagły[/def][/tooltip] growth in knowledge and the rate of change of our workplace environments. And, involvement in one’s own development [tooltip][phrase]fosters[/phrase][def]foster
take care of/ opiekować się[/def][/tooltip] greater [tooltip][phrase]commitment[/phrase][def]commitment
when you are willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in, or a promise or firm decision to do something / poświęcenie, zaangażowanie, oddanie[/def][/tooltip] to the process than other-directed activities.

2. LEARNING IS NOW OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Career development (CD) is now the primary responsibility of individuals in organizations. A recent survey of Human Resource Development Directors indicates that they consider CD to be their least important function. This correlates with recent trends of disappearing corporate career paths and job security. Just as the responsibility for employee retirement planning is no longer a corporate function, the responsibility for learning and for the development of career [tooltip][phrase]paths[/phrase][def]path
track / ścieżka[/def][/tooltip] has been [tooltip][phrase]downloaded[/phrase][def]download
to copy or move programs or information into a computer’s memory, especially from the Internet or a larger computer / pobierać, ściągać, kopiować[/def][/tooltip] to the individual employees.
Personal learning project management is a new skill for most people, one for which they have not been adequately prepared. The good news is that this responsibility also brings increased control over one’s learning and career development, and the opportunity for a more stimulating and motivating work life.
The purpose of this article is to help you develop plans for individual career development for yourself and for other employees in your organizations. This process results in a document that has been referred to by such terms as an individual development plan, a learning contract, MBO (management-by-objectives) for personal learning, a personal „curriculum” for learning, and a plan for personal career [tooltip][phrase]advancement[/phrase][def]advancement
the development or improvement of something / rozwój, postęp[/def][/tooltip] . The results may also be applied to the „development” section of most performance appraisal forms.

Read paragraph number 3 and find words and expression with these or similar meaning.

take place, happen
aim attention at, concentrate
keeping, holding
accumulation, collection
put into action, bring about, carry out
select and give a responsibility

 

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take place, happen	occur
aim attention at, concentrate	focus
keeping, holding	retention
accumulation, collection	compilation
put into action, bring about, carry out	implement
select and give a responsibility	assign

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3. EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL LEARNING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

These methods have been used recently in a variety of university and industrial settings:

• Industrial environments. At the Niagara Division of Consolidated Papers, employees [tooltip][phrase]draft[/phrase][def]draft
  plan / szkic, projekt[/def][/tooltip] individual development plans, both individually and in consultation with the Training Manager. This process occurs annually, much like a performance review. The individual development planning process is focused on personal development and career growth, and is kept separate from other HR management functions such as reviews for salary, promotion, and retention purposes. Individual development plans can, and often should, include formal training programs, but the focus is on the learning and the individual, not on the organization’s curriculum and courses. If used correctly, a compilation of the learning needs from these individual learning plans ( [tooltip][phrase]coupled [/phrase][def]coupled
  join / połączyć[/def][/tooltip] with studies of organizational needs) can lead to more [tooltip][phrase]efficient [/phrase][def]efficient
  working or operating quickly and effectively in an organized way / wydajny, skuteczny[/def][/tooltip] planning of training efforts by the organization.
• University teaching and learning. At leading universities that focus on quality learning, education and training, learning contracts are often used in courses to shift the responsibility for learning from the instructor to the students. Individuals [tooltip][phrase]design[/phrase][def]design
  to make or draw plans for something, for example clothes or buildings / projektować[/def][/tooltip] , develop and implement their own plans for learning in their courses, in a process similar to the use of the industrial individual development plans previously referred to. This works especially well with adult learners who bring a variety of skills, knowledge and experiences to their studies, and who also have a variety of needs for learning and development because of the [tooltip][phrase]diversity[/phrase][def]diversity
  when many different types of things or people are included in something / mnogość, zróżnicowanie[/def][/tooltip] of their working environments. It also benefits more traditional students who learn „how to learn”, and who need project management skills and experiences.
• Pulp and paper education. This process has been used very successfully in a senior course in pulp and paper process operations at the University of Minnesota. The students felt that their learning was more interesting and exciting because they had the ability to choose (actually, to propose and contract-for) their learning projects. They also assigned themselves more work, and therefore learned more, than with traditional methods of instruction. As a bonus, they developed their skills in engineering project management as applied to projects of direct interest and importance to themselves.
• Industrial and corporate internships. This works especially well for individualized learning experiences such as on-campus student research and development projects, and for off-campus learning such as for corporate internships.

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Match 1-4 to a ?d and true make sentences according to paragraph 4

1. Assessment focuses		A) and compare them with your company?s goals.
2. Identify your goals		B) will help you to determine the discrepancy between the present situation and the desired end effect.
3. Identifying the learning purpose		C) draw a plan and remember to keep it flexible.
4. Having identified the learning objectives		D) on establishing talent, competence and capabilities

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1. Assessment focuses	D) on establishing talent, competence and capabilities
2. Identify your goals	A) and compare them with your company?s goals.
3. Identifying the learning purpose	B) will help you to determine the discrepancy between the present situation and the desired end effect.
4. Having identified the learning objectives	C) draw a plan and remember to keep it flexible.

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4. STEPS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

We use standard forms to help the learners follow a systematic process to prepare their learning contracts, individual development plans, or learning project management strategies. Here is what should be included in a personal learning plan:

• Assessment. First, identify your current skills, knowledge, abilities, and interests (needs assessment process).
• Goals. Identify the new skills, knowledge, and experiences you would like to [tooltip][phrase]acquire[/phrase][def]acquire
  to get something / nabyć[/def][/tooltip] and have. Do these goals match your personal and career interests? Are your goals in agreement with your organization’s goals, mission and vision?
• Learning purpose. Identify the [tooltip][phrase]gap [/phrase][def]gap
  space between something or difference two things / luka, przerwa[/def][/tooltip] between the current situation and the [tooltip][phrase]desired [/phrase][def]desire
  want something especially very strongly / pragnąć, pożądać[/def][/tooltip] [tooltip][phrase]outcome[/phrase][def]outcome
  a result or effect of an action / wynik, rezultat[/def][/tooltip] . This will produce a statement of purpose that should clarify why you want to learn something, and what specific skills, knowledge and abilities you wish to develop.
• Learning objective(s). Identify what skills, knowledge, and abilities are to be acquired or [tooltip][phrase]enhanced[/phrase][def]enhance
  improve the quality, amount or strength of something / ulepszyć[/def][/tooltip] . Remember that this is only a plan, not a [tooltip][phrase]rigid [/phrase][def]rigid
  stiff or fixed / sztywny[/def][/tooltip] promise; your plan can and should be revised as your goals change and as learning occurs.

Number the sentences in proper order according to the last part of the 4^th paragraph.

1. Recap your results and analyse the knowledge you acquired.
2. Consult your trainer.
3. Verify your outcomes with a third person and update your learning plan.
4. Identify the end date of your plan.
5. Plan what resources you will use.
6. Make the list of evidence you will produce during the process of achieving your objectives.
7. Establish your methods of learning.
8. Determine the methods of evaluation.
9. Consult your trainer.

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1. Identify the end date of your plan.
2. Establish your methods of learning.
3. Plan what resources you will use.
4. Make the list of evidence you will produce during the process of achieving your objectives.
5. Determine the methods of evaluation.
6. Consult your trainer.
7. Recap your results and analyse the knowledge you acquired.
8. Verify your outcomes with a third person and update your learning plan.

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For each objective, identify the following:

• Target date. Identify when you plan to complete the work for this part of your learning plan.
• Learning strategies. Describe how you plan to do it, and what process you plan to follow to [tooltip][phrase]accomplish[/phrase][def]accomplish
  to finish something successfully or to achieve something / ukończyć[/def][/tooltip] your objective. For example, strategies could include: reading and study, interviews and discussions with appropriate people, mill trials, [tooltip][phrase]networking [/phrase][def]networking
  to meet people who might be useful to know, especially in your job[/def][/tooltip] and communication, reflecting on your own experiences, classroom study, literature review, synthesizing and writing.
• Learning resources. Identify what resources you plan to use to help you with this learning process. These resources might include, for example: literature, mentors, co- workers, other professionals for networking, [tooltip][phrase]vendors [/phrase][def]vendor
  someone who is selling something / zbywca[/def][/tooltip] or suppliers, classes, technical conferences, professional association involvement, equipment manuals, laboratory trials, production workers, teachers and instructors, field experience, your supervisors, and a variety of learning technologies including computers, the Internet, and perhaps even your mill’s DCS (digital control system).
• Outcomes and products. List the evidence you will develop to show the accomplishment of your objectives. What [tooltip][phrase]deliverables [/phrase][def]deliverable
  at deliver / mogący podlegać dostarczeniu[/def][/tooltip] will you have produced by this process? What objects can be used to validate your learning experience? This could include, for example, [tooltip][phrase]a log[/phrase][def]a log
  record / dziennik, log[/def][/tooltip] or journal of your studies or observations, a literature review and bibliography, written and oral reports, lists of questions, obtaining specific career objectives, and more.
• Evaluation plan. Describe the method you will use to validate your deliverables and to evaluate the success of your learning project. In other words, what criteria and means will you use to determine if you were successful in reaching your learning goals?
• Initial feedback and revision. Before starting to carry-out your individual development plan, [tooltip][phrase]confer with [/phrase][def]confer with
  talk, give / rozmawiać, przekazywać[/def][/tooltip] your supervisor (instructor, mentor, or HRD-manager if available) for feedback, for another view of your learning needs and strategies. This will help insure that your learning will not only be based on your personal needs but will also be relevant to your organization’s goals, results, and profitability. The more independent sources you can use, the better — seek additional feedback from your co-workers, colleagues, family and friends.
• Summary of results. After completing the projects in your individual plan, you should evaluate the success of these activities. What [tooltip][phrase]insights [/phrase][def]insights
  a clear, deep and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation / wgląd[/def][/tooltip] have you gained? What new understandings do you have? What new skills, abilities and knowledge have you acquired? What experiences did you have, and what did you learn from them? How do you feel about this process?
• Next steps. You should review the accomplishments and successes of this project with your supervisor (and others, as appropriate). Then update your learning plan for the next cycle. Remember that learning and growth are processes that may, and should, continue indefinitely.