Career growth opportunities in the Global Services Sector (GSS) are many. With over 160 possible career pathways and the potential for lateral and vertical promotion, persons employed in business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, information technology outsourcing and digital media can access higher level jobs with training programmes. Training in the Global Services Sector is like an elevator ride, where each floor is a destination of opportunity for professional improvement. The higher up the floor, the more elevated the employee becomes in terms of skills, knowledge, and behaviour.
The PEAK (Perform to Enhance and Accelerate your Knowledge) Apprenticeship Programme, from the five-year GSS Project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and being implemented by JAMPRO, is one such training programme. PEAK’s 12 month “earn while you learn” Apprenticeship Programme helps Global Services Sector employees level up into supervisory management and leadership roles, by learning the knowledge and skills that will transform them into ‘must have’ and ‘must keep’ high value added GSS professionals.
Here are a few tips for a successful ride to the top as a GSS professional.
- Choose to go UP in your GSS Career
To go higher in the Global Services Sector, the employee or firm must first decide to press the UP button on the ground floor.
To start the journey of career advancement, entry level employees as well as their employers, should identify what skill and knowledge level should be targeted to upgrade both staff and firm performance. Such skill and knowledge levels may fall under skill areas such as supervisory management or leadership management.
Once the knowledge/skill gap has been identified, the next step would be to find the best training programme available and commence the process of moving up. The employee and/or the employer must press the UP button on the ground floor and then enter the lift, to get things going.
- Try not to access too many growth levels at the same time
Learning new skills and information can sometimes feel daunting, especially if each syllabus has a wide range of topics to be covered. It is best not to attempt doing too many courses/training programmmes at once so that the GSS learner does not feel overwhelmed while navigating the new content and existing job responsibilities. Focusing on one block of courses at a time, also allows the learner to fully explore and comprehend the concepts and competencies of each course in that learning block.
- Trust the journey upwards
Sometimes the ride in an elevator may be smooth and sometimes a bit bumpy. In fact, it may feel as if the journey up is too slow (taking too long to get ‘there’) or too fast (a bit scary as the ascent to the selected floor continues). However, each passenger must trust that they will get to their floor of choice safely.
This type of trust is also important and useful for GSS employees and firms who enroll in training programmes that are geared towards upskilling employees for the benefit of the team member, firm and the wider industry. The goal of training programmes such as the PEAK programme, is to build a strong pipeline of skilled workers who can function in mid-level management roles and respond to the skills needs of the GSS. The ultimate destination is a win-win for all parties.
- Step out with confidence after each level of training
The first few weeks after the completion of any training programme can leave the newly skilled team member filled with anticipation and even anxiety to try out what they have just learned. There may even be some sense of self-doubt to step into a new role gained as a result of the new certification. However, the best way to keep going is to step out.
Learning is continuous and the best way to master knowledge and skills is by doing. Make the mistakes, learn from them and apply the learned concepts and skills to the reality of the work world.
- Keep going UP
In our personal and professional lives, there is always room to grow. Upwards and onwards should always be on the agenda for global services industry employees and companies; especially with the constant changes in technology. It is important to keep abreast of training/upskilling opportunities that can advance experience and performance.
In the global services sector, there is no limit to how high one can go in their career.