What Are Professional Qualifications and Why You Need Them?

Looking to learn something new? If you’re on a mission to expand your career opportunities, gaining a professional qualification could be the answer. Within this guide, we will take a look at what these courses are and why you should undertake them.

Put simply, these are in-depth vocational qualifications that are specific to certain industries. These qualifications are tailored to meet the needs of a sector and will give you the skills and talents you need to help you succeed in that area. 

There are two types of professional qualifications you should know about; essential and non-essential. In some cases, you will not be able to get a role in a sector without first having completed a vocational qualification. These are known as essential professional qualifications and tend to apply to careers, such as accountancy and law. 

However, not all professional qualifications are essential. In some careers, such as marketing, you can land a job and then use vocational qualifications to bolster your CV when you want to move up the career ladder. That means that you may already be working in a certain sector and simply decide to take on some additional studies. 

What’s more, should you wish to be a ‘chartered’ professional in certain sectors, you may need to undertake professional qualifications. For example, to become a ‘chartered accountant’, you need to take certain exams and vocational qualifications. How you decide to proceed depends on the career path you choose to follow and the skills you ultimately need.

To better understand what professional qualifications mean, it’s helpful to look at the types that are available in the UK. Needless to say, the qualification you choose will depend highly on your current skill-set and your aspirations going forward. Let’s take a look at some of the types of professional qualifications and bodies out there:

If you’re thinking of entering a professional career, it’s worth doing some research into the qualifications that you may need. The more you learn about this particular subject matter, the better equipped you will be to move forward in your studies. Often enough, professional qualifications are essential to landing a role in a given sector. For that reason, it’s important that you consider undergoing them as a part of your ongoing development.

Now that you’ve got an overview of what professional qualifications are, let’s dig a little deeper into this topic. If you’re considering undertaking certain industry qualifications, you’re going to want to know how long they take. So, what type of time commitment will each of these qualifications require of you?

Professional qualifications are not a one-size-fits-all scenario. There’s a vast array of different types of courses. As such, the length of time you need to dedicate varies wildly. In some cases, you can complete a vocational qualification over a few weeks. However, you should note that other professional qualifications may take years to complete. When you’re looking into your options, consider whether you have the time to spare. 

Fortunately enough, many of the professional qualifications you can take online are flexible. For instance, you may be able to study them remotely and on a part-time basis. That means that you may be able to fit your professional qualifications around your current schedule. It’s worth looking at your available options when applying for a course.

Thinking about undertaking a professional qualification? There’s never been a better time to improve your skills and get additional qualifications. You may have toyed with the idea for a while and come to no conclusion. Here are three reasons to simply go for it.

As we have already mentioned, in some sectors, it is necessary for you to have an industry qualification to land a position. If that is the case, gaining one of these qualifications is the sole way that you can carve out a career in your chosen sector.

Of course, not all industries require you to have a professional qualification. However, having a vocational qualification shows that you are dedicated to this path without having to go the academic route via university. When a potential employer looks at your CV, they will see that you have taken the time to bolster your skill-set and learn more about the industry. That’s a huge bonus!

Finally, the main reason to undertake one of the many professional qualifications is that it offers you new-found skills and knowledge. Regardless of the industry that you’re in, you should always be learning new things and expanding your expertise.

What are you waiting for? Now that you’re well-versed in the realms of professional qualifications, why not get out there and start studying? Consider which vocational qualifications will help propel you forward in your career. You certainly won’t regret it.

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