Career planning and development

The career planning process is often illustrated as the last step in an ever-changing work environment. The technical, professional, managerial, and interpersonal skills to successfully perform and succeed in this rapidly changing work environment are essential. There is a very real and immediate threat that many of the professional skills that we have learned yesterday and today will be obsolete and insufficient to cope with the inevitable changes in the future. While most professionals are aware of the very real threat of skill obsolescence, few take the opportunity to do definitive career planning regarding their future. The career planning process is designed to help individuals examine their careers; evaluate their training and educational needs; and develop some specific action plans to maintain, enhance, and reevaluate the relevance of their professional and managerial skills in a work environment that values rapid change and adaptation.