Staying a Step Ahead: Why continuing education is a smart investment.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

In many industries, continuing education is a must in order to keep up with the latest rules and regulations and technological advancements. But finding the time and the money to send employees to these classes isn't always a priority for businesses that are already stretched thin.

"For employers and employees, taking time out of a busy day is a burden; these days, everyone is doing more with less," explains Anchorage Society for Human Resource Management (ASHRM) President Patty Hickok, who also serves as the membership and workforce readiness director for the Alaska SHRM State Council. "But businesses and individuals need to look at the time and cost spent on continuing education as an investment. In the human resources field, or in any field, things are changing so rapidly that employees must continue lifelong learning or get left behind. In today's job market, the only constant is change."

Continuing Ed Opportunities

In the past, companies might have been willing to send employees outside Alaska for specialized training, but with businesses tightening their belts, it has become more common for them to look for this type of training in-state.

ASHRM offers a variety of training opportunities for human resources professionals, managers, or other employees with HR responsibilities, as well as the community at-large. These include monthly meetings and in-person trainings held by the Anchorage chapter that can last anywhere from one hour to half or full days.

"On the state level, we also offer a complimentary webinar approximately one time a month that enables us to reach out to our community who may not be able to attend in person because of geography," says Hickok, adding that some of the presentations cover the same material, or have the same speaker, as the in-person meetings. "One of our challenges is providing education and opportunities to all of our members in Alaska, and my biggest reward, personally, is to hear from those in smaller communities outside of Fairbanks, Juneau, and Anchorage who have never before had the opportunity to participate in these classes."

Topics cover the full cycle of human resources, including recruiting and onboarding, retention, engagement, employee relations, terminations, employee law, negotiation, metrics, earthquake preparedness, and more. "You name it, we do it," says Hickok. "We focus on the issues that businesses deal with on a day-to-day basis."

The trainings are open to any company or industry and are not limited to human resource professionals. "They are useful for anyone who manages people," says Hickok, giving the...