Learning is a great way to exercise your brain, experience new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s a common misconception that learning and education are for younger people, but the reality is, we can learn brand new skills at any age.
As children we are all super inquisitive, but this dulls with age, and our appetite to learn may be put aside because life gets in the way.
Showing that you have a keen interest to learn, as well as being curious, are both attractive traits employers are looking for. Due to this, continuing learning after education can make a great additions to a CV!
Here are our top five ways to keep learning after you’ve left education.
1 - Take free online courses
Online courses are a great way to continue your learning journey as they areflexible and can be completed at a time that suits you in a comfortable environment. There are so many free online learning options out there covering a range of topics that could help you enhance your knowledge, even if it isn’t directly linked to the industry you want to work in.
Online courses can include:
- Improving your public speaking skills
- Learning how to use spreadsheets or creating presentations
- A psychology crash course
- Learning a language
Great places to find free online courses:
Google Digital Garage - Great for courses in digital marketing, career management and data.
Duolingo - Perfect for learning a new language.
Udacity - Great for learning how to code.
Smartly - Great for business and finance courses.
2 - Read books
Reading books is a great way to enhance your learning after education, even if you're reading fictional books. This is because they allow you to enhance your vocabulary, use your imagination and expand your knowledge.
The benefits of reading include:
- Exercising your brain
- Improving focus
- Improving memory
- Improving your ability of empathy
- Helps to improve communication skills
- Reduces stress
- Can help to improve mental health
3 - Learn a language
You may have always wanted to learn a new language but perhaps found it too overwhelming or difficult to learn at school. However, with there being so many great ways to learn a language online at a time that suits you, such as using Duolingo or Babbel, there’s no opportunity like the present to get learning.
Perfecting a new language can help you exercise your brain, extend knowledge and improve communication skills. Being able to speak multiple languages is highly attractive to employers, as it shows that you can multitask, learn new things and communicate effectively.
Other benefits include:
- Deepens your connections to other cultures
- Can help boost confidence
- Can help to strengthen decision making
- Improves perspective
4- Embrace a new hobby
Embracing new hobbies is a great way to keep learning after education, as they teach you creative and organisational skills as well as improving your focus. Hobbies can also improve mental wellbeing.
Hobbies can include:
- Listening to, playing an instrument or writing music
- Reading
- Writing poetry
- Gardening
- Journaling
- Sports activities
- Baking
5 - Listen to a podcast or watch educational shows and videos
Listening to podcasts or watching educational videos are a great way to boost your learning, as you can do it on the go, while you're doing chores or your daily commute (but be sure not to watch any videos while driving!).
Benefits of learning using a podcast:
- You can listen to them from anywhere and can download them
- Can help improve focus.
- They’re easy to fit into your daily routine.
- They offer a different learning style.
Get in touch with Ingeus today to see how we can support you in your career journey.
