1. Communication
   Vital in business, every profession requires communication in some form as part of the job and you must be able to express yourself on an interpersonal level as well as with your written word. The best kind of courses would be: Business writing, presentation skills and making an impact in meetings
2. Business relationships
   Business relationships are the connections you make between yourself and stakeholders, such as other employees, clients and business partners. Employees that can build strong bonds of trust between team members and clients help to build the brand and create repeat business. Courses that are particularly useful would be; Influencing and persuading skills, business partnering and dealing with people and conflict
3. Marketing
   The heart of any business, with many aspects of businesses relying on successful marketing. Many areas all under marketing including sales, advertising, public relations and promotions. Marketing done correctly will build brand awareness, increase sales and grow businesses. Useful courses within marketing would be; digital marketing, marketing communications and sales techniques.
4. Health and safety
   Health and safety makes good business sense and workplaces can face prosecution, lose staff and increase costs. Employees that are training in health and safety are more likely to identify hazards and adopt safe working practices and help companies to meet their legal obligations.
5. IT
   Technology, combining hardware, software and services allows businesses to work harder, smarter and faster and touches all areas within a workplace. Even a basic knowledge of IT can help you leverage the benefits for organising, communicating, customer service and decision making. Good courses to take are; Advanced Excel, Management Information Systems, Software Project Management and Data Protection.

This article has been provided by Horizon CPD, UK’s leading Continuing Professional Development recording tool.

The post The best training to undertake for a promotion first appeared on Business Pro.

1. Ask for it
   One of the most obvious, but often overlooked rules is that no one will give you a promotion unless you ask for it. This rule applies for most things in your career, unless management are aware of what your future goals are, no one will be offering out training, promotions or raises. Make sure you point out your goals in your meetings with your line manager, and set timescales to these as well.
2. Get noticed
   You have to get noticed to progress your career, working hard with your head down will not help you move forward. One of the most important is to get on with others, people who are team players always progress further. Speak up at meetings, be an active participant. Volunteer yourself, by helping others and taking on new projects you will get noticed by management.
3. Be persistent
   Keep trying and never give up. Stay focused on your goals and remember the path to get there may not be straight, you may have to jump around to get to you final goal. This takes persistence because not everything will come immediately, but it will be worth waiting for.
4. Negotiate
   Take advantage of the power that you have. If you are asked to do something new or you have taken on a new role use this to negotiate a step closer to your goal. This could be a raise or a career advancement. Be careful of using the “I’ll leave if I don’t get this” and you may well have your bluff called, this is fine if you are happy to leave, but not advisable if you are not.
5. Take some career development risks
   You will not get anywhere without taking some risks, whether this is applying for a new job, asking for a promotion or taking a sideways move. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, you will learn more from the mistakes you make than you will ever doing things fine. Don’t be afraid to try new things, especially if they are out of your comfort zone.
6. Make the most of networking
   You never know how a new person that you meet can change your life. Impressing the right people can lead to new job offers, career progression and recommendations. You can use networking to help keep up-to-date on the field that work in. Remember that networking should be two way, by providing opportunities for others they are more likely to provide them to you. Use social networks such as LinkedIn to reach a wider audience, but don’t neglect the physical networking events.
7. Have passion
   Passionate workers get noticed and are a pleasure to work with. When you are passionate about your work you make sure you do your best and and produce excellent and creative results. Your passion will rub off on others and provide a positive energy that management will want to promote throughout their company. Passionate people are more likely to advance in their career and get recommended for promotions and new exciting roles.

The post 7 ways to advance in your current employment first appeared on Business Pro.