Let’s start today with a little background. I am a first generation Australian. Both of my parents travelled here by ship in the 1950’s. My father was 11 years old when he settled in inner Melbourne as a pre-teen. At 14, he began an apprenticeship as a butcher.
This piece of personal information is one you may find useless or even irrelevant, but it has had me thinking about the opportunities, trajectories and prospects that shape your life and your career. The way we move forward, always shifting directions and paving the path in front of us. So, I’ll ask you to stay with me.
By the time I came on the scene, he’d hung up his apron and moved on to less bloody sales work. But I remember clearly that in conversations about what he did for a living, his standard answer was, “I’m a butcher by trade, but now I…”
He would return to butchering in his 50s, working for a man he did trade school with, who owned his own shop. They had both learned old-school skills; solid, traditional. This shop, in Melbourne, is famous. People travelled from all around Melbourne just to get their meat from here. Part of the charm being that the entire experience was old-school. They only introduced EFTPOS about ten years ago. Before then, it was pen in the top pocket, manual calculations on a corner of the white paper that wrapped your haul, shave a little off the total, cash only, see you next time. The service was time-honoured too. Every customer greeted by name, personal anecdotes shared over the counter like old friends. And I guess this counted for a lot of repeat business, but unanimously, the meat was good. Like, really good.
My point is that there are trades that you learn that don’t evolve much. Good butchering, in fact, might be one that has been lost over time. Having those skills, not losing those skills and rejecting new, streamlined processes is an advantage for your career.
But, we’re not butchers, nor bakers, nor candle-stick makers, and the landscape is wildly different over here.
Can you imagine trying to apply only the skills you learned in school in your current role?
Within IT and tech, not learning new skills and keeping ahead of the game is neither charming, nor a competitive edge. It can be career limiting and personally disadvantageous to idle.
Upskill for Personal Growth
Learning new or sharpening up your skills is not just about improving yourself career-wise.
Continuous learning is about mental fitness, personal growth and maintaining relevance in a world that’s evolving at super-speed. It is also about personal fulfillment, achievement and a commitment to self-improvement.
Upskilling also teaches you new ways to learn. It is true. There are always new ways to learn, sometimes better ways to learn. Have you ever tried to help your kids with their maths homework and thought, how does long division change? Well, it does. And the old way might be right, but the new way is supposed to help the student understand the process more.
Learning, and giving yourself the tools to learn, keeps you agile and adaptable.
Upskill for Your Career
The world of tech moves very quickly. Continuous learning helps you to not only keep up with changes but can move you ahead. Demonstrating your willingness to learn and acquire new skills is a highly desired soft skill in tech.
Job satisfaction is very important. And it’s not only tied to remuneration or free soft drinks in the communal fridge. According to Clicks’ 2024-25 IT Workforce insights Report, when it comes to job satisfaction, the game is changing. For the question My employer would keep me for life if… 14% of respondents cited Challenges as a factor, compared to 7% last year. That’s a 100% increase.
Upskilling gives you more opportunities to tackle new challenges, take on more interesting projects, and expand your role and transferrable skills.
Finally, further study often takes you to new environments, flinging open the doors to a new network of likeminded people. You can meet and connect with industry professionals, mentors, and connections who can provide advice and insights that can further enhance your skillset and career.
Networking is such an important, and often undervalued aspect of our working life. These can help to guide and support you throughout your career, offer opportunities and mentorship. And importantly, people to talk to who get you.
Now, you’re probably wondering what the butcher has to do with all of this?
Well, it’s a great example of how continuous learning affects many aspects of your life. Importantly, the willingness to learn and the learning to learn.
You might think it all worked out for my father, but I just spent many weeks helping him adjust to a new iPhone. He was forced into buying one because his old iPhone 3 that has never had an update stopped working (remember the old TV YouTube icon? – still there). He wanted to upgrade to another iPhone so that he could transfer his photos and messages from the old one. He refuses to learn about or engage with the internet, so it is all a struggle. And, he misses out on giving his grandkids a facetime every now and again while their lives have little time for anyone who has parent in their title, grand or not…
If you’re still a little unsure about putting in the effort to learn new things, imagine what you could be missing out on.
