Is your company helping you grow? How you can gain assistance from your company to study further

While it may be challenging, pursuing additional qualifications is essential for your career growth. It can also be mutually beneficial for your company.

In Forbes’s article, Upping The Ante: We Need You To Join The Upskilling Movement, they outline the many advantages for companies who offer additional skills development for employees – such as finding and retaining talented staff, and boosting productivity. Today, many companies are giving their employees the opportunity to upskill while they work, offering major benefits for both parties.

Advantages for you:

• You continue earning a salary while you study
• You develop skills for improving your performance
• You become more suitable for promotion

Advantages for your company:

• Improved employee job satisfaction
• A specific role within the company can be fulfilled
• Workforce is equipped with the latest industry skills

How your company can develop your skills

 Here are some of the specific benefits that your employers can offer you.

In-house training programmes

All companies can provide you with the training you need to get up to speed with your role in the company. Many companies also offer you access to training through online or proprietary learning platforms, allowing you to upskill easily and focus on development relevant to your organisation’s needs.

Study leave 

If you’re looking to pursue additional qualifications at a tertiary institution, you may not have to make use of your regular leave. Your company could provide you with additional leave days specifically for studying.

Financial assistance 

When exploring how to fund your studies at a tertiary institution, you may think your options are limited to bursaries, government funding, student loans or self-funding. However, your company may have financial programmes to help you finance your studies. Depending on your employer’s policy, this financial assistance could come in the form of a partial or complete payment towards your certification or qualification.

How you can achieve assistance from your employer 

Here are a few ways you can increase your chances of a successful application.

Motivate through the benefits it brings to your company 

While taking study leave or providing you with financial assistance are perks, they will still require you to motivate for it. You can do so by highlighting the advantages it will offer from the organisation’s point of view.

Anticipate their concerns

One of the major concerns companies have is how you will handle the work/study balance.

Your employer will need to understand how you intend to manage the extra learning workload. Will you have a slightly shorter work day so you can attend lectures? Will you take evening classes? Will you pursue a modular study programme and only be away from work a few days at a time? Or will you do a short course and complete your studies during business hours?

You will also need to prove how your studies are relevant to the business. Whether your new skills will help you in your current role, or will set you up for another position in the organisation, you’ll need to justify why you’re embarking on this journey.

Be prepared to go beyond

Many companies require that you have worked for the organisation for a minimum amount of time before they offer you study leave or financial assistance for your studies. They also often require you to commit to a minimum period of time at the company after you’ve completed your studies. You may need to sign an agreement that you will remain at your organisation for a minimum period of time after you’ve completed your studies.

Now that you know more about how you can grow in your career, the next step is choosing you programme. But which one is the right one for you? The University of Stellenbosch Business School has a Programme Finder that can help you discover the programme best suited to your career growth. This tool takes into account a number of different criteria, such as your work experience, job function and areas of interest, to provide you with an academic path that is beneficial to you and your company.

Where will your programme take you in your career? Keep searching. Keep learning. Keep discovering.