October 12, 2016

A recent study from the Pew Research Center shows that 63 percent of employed American adults are professional learners, or – in other words – have taken a course to improve their job skills or advance their careers in the past 12 months.

The same study found several benefits of undergoing professional development, including an expanded professional network and advancement within the workplace.

For local professional learners, the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce offers a wide variety of workshops and seminars. In fact, the Chamber is offering five different learning opportunities this month alone.

They include:

The Importance of Teaming for Innovation Oct. 13

Inspired by Amy Edmondson’s Teaming to Innovate, this workshop focuses on building and developing teams that spur creativity and share knowledge by working together. Attendees will learn about the five steps of teaming, which include aiming high, teaming up, failing well, learning fast and repeating.

Fundamentals of Public Speaking for Young Professionals Oct. 13

For current and prospective Young Professionals, this event will cover the framework for public speaking; building a message; the PVLEGS Theory assessment tool; tips for better listening and more.

Hello and Goodbye: Doing Hiring and Firing Right Oct. 19

Hiring the right employee can prevent a myriad of problems and legal risks later. However, when firing an employee is unavoidable, it is important that the employer know which grounds are – and are not – permissible for discharge. This training session will discuss these issues as well as best practices for hiring and firing employees.

Target Market: Finding Your Starting PointOct. 25

In this session, attendees will answer a series of questions: Why are you in business? What do you sell? Who are your customers? How well do you compete? By learning how to clearly identify their unique target markets, they will be able to better identify the best referral partners and networking organizations to reach their business’ audiences.

Coggno Online Courses (Rolling)

In partnership with Coggno, the Chamber offers more than 1,000 online training courses, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be accessed through an employee's workstation, home computer or mobile device. Through Oct. 21, the Managing Stress course is free with the coupon code LJWZLK1ZAE6PFIO. Through Oct. 28, the Get Smarter with Goals session is free with the code XFJZN0M46B0DFHI.