Identify where your relevant skill gaps are:
The first step is working out what knowledge you have and what knowledge gaps you have. What construction skills are you confident in, and what needs work? In other words – what do you need to know and develop in order to advance?
Think about this programming skills tree for kids:
It starts with basics and then moves up in difficulty and requirements.
There’s a glassblower who designed her own skills tree & decided on what she wanted for each “level” in order to advance too. Designing your own gives you a bit more freedom and flexibility, but you still need to identify those core skills!
You can easily do the same but for whatever areas you would like to specialise in or learn more about.
Once you can do one thing well, you advance. This moves you up the tree until you’re at the top and have achieved your goal, ready for the next tree.
Know what you need to do in order to achieve these skills, qualifications and certifications.
Is it just a case of revising for a test to advance? Are there any bonus materials you could use like the CITB HS&E apps?
Or do you need to take part in an online course, or an in-person course such as the ones we run here at Advance Training Scotland.
Find the training
Simply knowing what you need to do isn’t enough – you then need to put this into practice. Reach out to associations, training centres (like us!) or even people who’s guidance you value to see what they would recommend.
Then book into those training courses! Listen to those podcasts or YouTube videos and start learning.
Get feedback and talk to others
This goes for while you’re on the course and outside of it.
Talk to the people who’s guidance you value – see what they have to say about what you’ve been doing and if they can give you tips to improve further. Also, if you’re on a course then talking to your fellow attendees isn’t just a way to be friendly, but it’s a way to improve everyone’s learning. See what construction skills you can improve on by reaching out!
So, to summarise; identify your own knowledge and what gaps you have, look into how to fill those gaps, find the training you need and don’t be afraid to talk to other people!
