The Benefits of specialized diplomas for career preparation

Why would anyone want to get a specialized diploma?

You’ve done your post-secondary education, business should be breaking down the door for your amazing skills…but wait, they aren’t.

Every year at PACE, we see a number of students who have completed post-secondary liberal arts degrees, but who haven’t been successful in entering the careers they had envisioned after completing a 3- or 4-year degree. Despite developing strong critical thinking, analysis and communications skills, graduates from these programs can struggle with being under-employed or advancing in their professional career as they may lack the necessary technical and applied skills required in today's labour market.

And you better believe there is competition in the labour market. In 2017 over 2 million students graduated with a university degree. That means there are hundreds of others applying for the exact same job you are, and no your beautiful resume with just the right font isn’t enough. You need skills! Skills that are polished and tailored to the industry you are applying to, whether that be in marketing or project management. In short, you need applied skills to give you an upper hand in the sea of degrees.

Enter the value of a post-degree diploma or certificate, like those offered at UWinnipeg PACE, which   provide you with a very particular set of skills aligned to your field of interest (such as human resources, public relations, web development, supply chain management…). These specialized program set you apart from your competition, as you master the technical skills of your industry and the soft-skills (communications, conflict management, change management, team work, to name a few) that are sought-after in today’s job market.

What to expect from a specialized program

What can you expect from a specialized program? For starters courses that are on trend and relevant to the industry, typically delivered by those with in-depth and current knowledge of the industry (the mark of a good school).

You should also expect to be loaded up with group work, case studies, and real-world scenario assignments. Diploma and certificate programs are designed with employability in mind, so the programs get right down to the core skills of the industry.

That means for you to succeed you need get down to business, devoting hours to coursework, prepping, researching, acing assignments, all while networking with industry people and building your personal brand. Essentially, you need to think of your time in the program as one long job interview.

Translating Skills to Success

While Bachelor of Arts degrees offer a useful “proof” of skills and demonstrate work ethic, ability to write, ability to work with others, and critical thinking skills, those holding liberal arts degrees are less often able to find employment matching their skills after graduating than those graduating with bachelor’s degrees in the fields with very specific skills training, such as nursing, engineering, education, computer and information science. But don’t worry, you can do something about that with a specialized diploma.

When you layer a degree with a specialized diploma you’re cooking with fire! The combination verifies you have both the critical thinking abilities and the hands-on skills—

setting you apart from the thousands of others looking for that dream job. Think of yourself as a cake (chocolate, carrot, red velvet….). Now, think of your degree as the ‘cakey’ part (the base of the creation). Your specialized diploma or certificate is the icing! So, ice your cake (which is always the best part of any cake) with something impressive – like a diploma in human resources, a diploma in public relations, or for those techies with a whimsy towards design a diploma in web development.

Typically, people who start a specialized diploma or certificate program already holding a degree are more likely to be successful, not only in the program, but also at finding employment quickly post-graduation. We see it again and again, PACE graduates secure well-paying, meaningful jobs before they are even done a program. We’ve seen students write their own tickets in terms of salary, flexible work schedules, and holidays! Who doesn’t want that, rather than battling for a seat at the table, you are constructing your own table.

I thought I needed to do a Master’s Degree?

Master’s degrees are becoming almost common place for those unable to land relevant jobs following successfully completing an undergraduate degree, as are business degrees like MBAs. And while graduate degrees reinforce and further develop those ever-important critical thinking, analysis, and research skills, amongst others, they do not necessarily prepare students for the world of work outside of academia – meaning you might still be lacking those hands-on skills that employers are looking for. However, a master’s degree gives you the opportunity to engage with a topic you are passionate about in a comprehensive way. If you are thinking a master’s degree is where you want to go, great choice. But if you’re not sure if that’s the right path, consider your options.

The Bonus of Specialized Diploma Programs

At PACE we offer a HUGE bonus with our specialized diploma programs. We take a holistic approach to our student’s success. That means including resume writing (with one-on-one time with a resume expert), interview practice (to make sure you are a cool as a cucumber when you get interviewed for your dream job), many industry networking opportunities, career fairs, and work-experience via internships. These “extras” are instrumental to the incredible success our graduates have in landing jobs in their chosen fields – sometimes even before their programs are complete. 

As we know, there is a vast hidden job market, which is only attainable through social/business connections. Building those connections and knowing how to capitalize on them, in a professional and relevant way makes a difference in finding positions, and certainly in getting hired for those positions.

A specialized program allows for you to get the skills in a way that makes sense, through real-world learning in a short timeframe. So you can get in, get trained, and get working (and earning money) FAST. It accomplishes all that with an affordable cost, usually in about a one-year timeframe and more flexibility in terms of balancing of life commitments.

Many people will complete a specialized diploma and years later layer it (again) with a master’s degree, continuing to elevate their knowledge-base. However, having the diploma provides a bridge to what they ‘love’ and the opportunity to work within that field already.

So What Does This All Mean for Me?

If you are looking for ways to enhance your learning a specialized diploma is perfect option. Layer it on your degree, or start here, and move on to a master’s degree. The possibilities, and options, are limitless, so don’t limit yourself to thinking once you are done your (first) degree your learning journey is complete.

Embrace the idea of life-long learning, and continually improving yourself through formal education and informal learning. Keeping up with the trends, and knowing where the jobs are can seem tricky. But, being well-educated—in a way that keeps you relevant—without too much commitment is what specialized programs do. Keep learning, growing, and increasingly your marketability.