More and more organisations offer dedicated time for employees to develop professionally.

Professional personal development refers to the learning of professional credentials, which can involve studying for an academic degree, gaining a professional qualification, or attending conferences and events. By offering dedicated time for personal development one can improve employees’ skills and performance and create an upwardly mobile workforce which enables you to promote from within more often. Other benefits include an increase in productivity and enables your organisation to handle change more effectively, as employees are continuously updating their skills.

At Skylab, we have a dedicated budget for each employee and their personal development. 25% of the budget can be used towards the purchase of digital health/wellness apps or digital devices such as Fitbit or an Apple Watch.

Our Digital Strategist, Steve Davies, who has a passion for photography asked if his personal development budget could be used towards a College course, one year later he has now gained a deeper insight into the art and gained a recognised qualification in Level 2 Photography from the NCFE (Northern Council for Further Education).

“Being part of an organisation that truly wants to invest in the development of its employees is a breath of fresh air. Working for a company that wants to help me develop as a person is just priceless.”

Cover photo for this post is taken and edited by Steve himself, we have also included a few of his photos below.

Emilia Kolbjørnsen our Marketing & Events Manager has focused on improving her levels of fitness and decided to use her budget towards the purchase of a Fitbit. She has since been challenging the team to move more and organised walks during lunch hours.

We recently expanded the policy and given our staff the option to use two of their 12 days of personal development to help out a charity of their choice. Knowing that an employer is willing to provide training and development makes an employee feel important and at Skylab, we believe it should be a part of all hiring packages.