Typically, from a student in an academic environment to a veteran in a well established organisation, continuous professional development is critical to the success of the individual and organisation.
The nature of ever-changing global and volatile markets demands agility and for people and firms to keep on top, remain sharp and competitive.
Businesses demand different types of skills, new ways of thinking, new capacities that business schools need to help create these skills in the workforce. They expect a shift from “I- shaped” to “T-shaped”, that is from deep technical expertise to trans-disciplinary knowledge which is both broad and deep.
Additionally, ‘commerciality’ skills and business acumen are increasingly seen by firms as a differentiator in a competitive market.
In 2014, a survey carried out by the FT within the Professional Services (PS) sector, with 1,000 respondents globally (427 advisers within PS firms and 625 clients of PS firms) indicated that advisers believe that commercial awareness directly contributes to achieving business outcomes:
- 89% believe commercial awareness contributes to winning new business.
- 89% say it’s important in offering their firm competitive advantage.
- 8 out of 10 say it helps advisers retain clients.
How can news improve employee development?
One does not become skilled without continued practice and habitual reading to become informed and knowledgeable about a subject matter. Even more important is the accuracy and source of information. For individuals at all levels of an organisation, the FT can help improve business acumen, student and employee development across all levels.
By reading the FT continuously, individuals develop a comprehensive understanding of their markets and industries, learn about the world of business and help ‘join the dots’ across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions to put together the big picture.
Over 40 of the Top 50 global business schools rely on an FT Education subscription simply because it fosters real-world learning and prepares the student for a corporate environment. Professional development begins in academia and continuously reading from credible sources to drive the ‘T-shaped’ approach that facilitates professional development.
We’ve also worked with a number of leading organisations including a top bank who used FT for their graduate programme. It helped them in many ways, for example 88% agreed that it helped them identify opportunities for new business activities and 75% agreed it helped them research and prepare for client meetings.
The foundation of our learning solution is our award winning journalism. Our 125-year old brand puts us in direct contact with top business leaders and policy makers, which provides a distinct advantage when it comes to understanding the key issues that businesses face. Our wide reach of over 600 journalists helps readers learn about international as well as domestic markets.
It is suitable for:
- Early/mid career: use induction and training programmes to help new hires understand the business across multiple disciplines and regions.
- Client facing teams: take advantage of user workflows and systems to create on the job learning materials that build the confidence and credibility of sales executives.
- Technical specialists: complement technical expertise with a broader commercial skill set to make a bigger impact on your or your client’s business.
- Leadership: ensure your senior managers and rising stars have the business savvy skills to take your organisation forward and lead effectively.
An FT Group Subscription offers a practical way for educational institutions to incorporate current affairs and an international perspective into their curriculums, bridging the gap between theory and reality.
For more information about how the Financial Times can help your organisation or to request a free trial, please get in touch.
