Personal Development Plan

Personal Development Plan



Personal Development Plan

Introduction

This personal development report reflects upon my Personal Development Plan. It aims to document the ways in which I have developed and areas for further consideration as part of a continual learning process. The report will be structured around 5 main areas as shown below

Placing learning within the wider context of lifelong learning

Taking personal responsibility for career planning

Taking personal responsibility for the learning process

Valuing the importance of developing personal effectiveness

Demonstrating an enquiring mind

The concept of lifelong learning

The concept of lifelong learning is as relevant now as it has ever been, with the traditional job for life being replaced by shorter periods of work for different firms requiring essentially the same skills and qualities in employees. Therefore the ability for these skills to be transferable is very important. To develop these skills therefore is extremely important with many employers putting greater emphasis upon these core skills and less emphasis upon specific skills. These skills can be used in many different situations and circumstances to allow the employee to perform to the best of their ability. The concept of work is continuously changing. An individual not only has several jobs in a lifetime but may also have several careers. Therefore everybody needs continuous updating of skills and competence throughout their working life. The following skills are widely considered to be Core

Transferable Skills

Organisational Skills

Interpersonal/ Social Skills

Analytic and Problem Solving Skills

Teamwork

Creativity

Self Motivation

Initiative and Leadership

It is these skills that have been particularly important to develop whilst at university and it is the experience of university both academically and socially that has provided the ideal environment for these skills to be developed. The combination of leaving home and adapting to a completely different environment both educationally and socially has meant that the learning curve especially in the first semester was very steep. To live away from home for the first time without any contacts in an unknown city is a life changing experience and forces oneself to adapt and mature quickly after leaving the security of the family home. Being entirely responsible for yourself is also a new experience requiring maturity and forward thinking as well as planning to enable yourself to function.

The Learning Process

The biggest contribution to taking responsibility for the learning process will the decision to further my learning at university. This decision will allowed myself the opportunity to further my learning both academically and socially in ways that I will would be unable to had I will not made the decision to attend university. Also the decision to accept my place on the Engineering course will be another way in which I will have demonstrated my personal responsibility for learning. The course is intense for each of the three years, more so than most undergraduate courses and the decision to accept a place on this course rather than other courses where workload and intensity were less was important. The course aims to enrich individuals with far greater experience both academically and in terms of transferable skills therefore ...