Regardless of the reason for the change or transition, some common themes emerge in relation to career development:

• Employability is the key to success in this changing world of work.
• Employability and career development must be driven by the individual.
• Employability is the capacity of individuals to possess the skills, knowledge and attitudes to engage and re-engage in various forms of employment.
• Lifelong learning across the lifespan in formal and informal ways is crucial to employability and produces a flexible and adaptable workforce.
• Career choice and development is broader than just an occupation or a job, but is influenced by all facets of your life including personal lifestyle, circumstances, interests and values.
• Career resilience is a core survival skill of the future working environment. Resilience, described as ‘the capacity to adapt to a changing situation while maintaining and nurturing one’s core self’¹ will clearly be enhanced if individuals position themselves as lifelong learners.

Your career, today and in the future is likely to involve:

• A range of different jobs.
• A range of interests and skills.
• Working for a number of organisations.
• Experience in more than one industry.
• Different types of work arrangements through the course of one’s life including full-time, part-time, contract, self-employed etc.
• Organisational changes which will affect your role in an organisation.

To build a career, you’ll need to:

• Take responsibility for your own direction and growth.
• Know who you are and what your goals are, in terms of way of life and job satisfaction, as well as wealth and success.
• Train yourself to master new sets of skills, so that you have more choices in a climate of change.
• Be able to view changes in work or in life circumstances, as opportunities for growth and development and not as a threat.
• Learn to see and understand the changing patterns in the working world, so that you can anticipate future trends and adjust accordingly.