Back to School - It Isn't Just for the Kids

The summer holidays are over. The uniforms are ready, the bags are packed, and parents across the country are preparing to send their children back to school for another year of learning.

But I have a question...

Why should the kids have all the fun?

We spend the first couple of decades of our lives constantly learning. School, college, university, apprenticeships, training courses. We are surrounded by opportunities to develop ourselves.

Then, somewhere along the way, many of us stop.

We get into our careers, life gets busier, responsibilities increase and suddenly sitting down with a textbook or attending a course feels like something we haven't done for years.

I hear it from candidates all the time.

"I haven't sat an exam in years."

"I've forgotten how to learn."

"I don't even know what my learning style is anymore."

And I completely understand why people feel that way, but perhaps September shouldn't only be the time when children go back to school.

Perhaps it should be a reminder for the rest of us as well.

Every Day's a School Day

We've all heard the phrases.

"You learn something new every day."

"Every day's a school day."

And technically, that’s true. We are constantly picking things up through conversations, experiences, mistakes, documentaries, podcasts, social media and everything else happening around us.

But there is a difference between learning something and actively developing yourself.

Finding out a random fact that wins you a point in Sunday’s pub quiz is still technically learning. But professional development needs to be more deliberate than that.

Targeted learning asks a few different questions:

• What do I want to become better at?

• What knowledge am I currently missing?

• Where do I want my career to go?

• What qualifications could help me get there?

• What evidence do I have that demonstrates my competence?

That final one is becoming increasingly important.

It is fantastic to say that you understand something. It is even better when you can evidence it.

You Were Never Supposed to Know Everything

Nobody begins their career with all the knowledge they will eventually need.

Imagine starting your first job and saying: "That's my learning finished for the next 40 years."

It sounds ridiculous when you put it like that… yet plenty of professionals unintentionally fall into exactly that pattern.

The knowledge that got you your first role won't necessarily get you your next one. The skills that made you successful five years ago may not be enough for the role you want five years from now.

Industries change. Technology changes. Best practice changes. Organisations change. And hopefully, you change too.

Professional growth requires us to keep stretching ourselves beyond what we already know.

Sometimes that means reading a book. Sometimes it means attending a webinar or conference. Sometimes it means asking somebody more experienced for help.

And sometimes it means putting yourself back into a classroom, studying properly and working towards a recognised qualification. There shouldn't be anything uncomfortable about admitting that you still have things to learn.

I'd argue the opposite.

Recognising the gaps in your knowledge is one of the clearest signs that you are taking your professional development seriously.

"But I Haven't Done an Exam in Years..."

This is probably one of the most common concerns I hear when somebody joins one of my courses. People can be brilliant professionals with years of experience behind them, yet the thought of sitting an exam again suddenly takes them straight back to school.

I understand it.

If you haven't revised for years, opening a textbook can feel strange. If you haven't sat an exam since university, the idea of being tested again can feel intimidating. If you have spent ten or twenty years learning primarily through experience, deliberately studying a syllabus can feel completely unfamiliar.

But you haven't forgotten how to learn; you might just be out of practice… and there is a big difference.

Learning is a skill in itself. Like most skills, the more frequently you use it, the more natural it becomes.

You start taking notes again. You figure out what helps information stick. You remember whether you prefer diagrams, conversations, reading, practice questions or a combination of everything.

Before long, the part of your brain that you thought had retired from studying suddenly wakes back up.

CPD Should Be More Than a Box-Ticking Exercise

Continuing Professional Development is something most professionals will come across at some point in their careers. However CPD shouldn't simply become a target for collecting hours. The number isn't really the point. Development is the point.

Good CPD should make you better at something. It should expose you to ideas you haven't considered before, strengthen existing knowledge, challenge assumptions or prepare you for the next stage of your career.

That is why I think targeted development matters so much.

Instead of asking:

"How can I get some CPD hours?"

Try asking:

"What would genuinely make me better at my job?"

The answer might lead you towards a qualification. It might lead you towards a specialist course. It might even lead you into an area completely outside your normal profession.

Whatever it is, give the learning some purpose.

Qualifications Still Matter

There is no point pretending otherwise. Experience is essential, and anybody who has attended one of my training courses will know that I strongly believe professional competence goes far beyond simply memorising a textbook. But when you are trying to progress your career, sometimes you need more than experience alone.

Before a hiring manager ever reads your CV, it may already have been through an applicant tracking system, CV scanner, or AI-supported recruitment tool looking for specific words, skills, certifications, and qualifications.

You might have ten years of brilliant experience, but if the role asks for a particular qualification and your CV doesn't show it, you could be putting yourself at a disadvantage before you have even had the opportunity to explain what you can do.

That is the reality of modern recruitment. But for many, a qualification represents much more than another keyword on a CV.

It shows effort!

Somebody has made the decision to invest in themselves. They have attended training, listened to experienced professionals, studied the material, revised, asked questions, challenged their own understanding and ultimately put themselves forward to be examined against a recognised standard. That takes commitment.

Passing an exam does not suddenly make somebody an expert, and a certificate should never replace practical experience. However, earning a recognised qualification demonstrates that somebody has actively gone out of their way to develop themselves rather than simply relying on what they already know.

And when you combine that learning with genuine workplace experience, you become a much stronger professional.

Experience demonstrates what you have done. Qualifications provide evidence of what you have learned.

In a competitive job market, having both can make a significant difference.

September Is a Brilliant Time to Start

September through to December is traditionally one of my busiest periods of the year for training.

And I think there is something quite natural about that.

Summer finishes, holidays slow down, routines return and people begin looking at what they still want to achieve before the year disappears.

So while the children are heading back to their classrooms, perhaps this is your opportunity to head back to yours.

Pick something you've been putting off.

Book the course.

Start reading the book.

Attend the webinar.

Work towards the certification.

Put some dedicated time aside and actually invest in yourself.

Because there is still plenty of time left in 2026.

Start now, get the studying done, sit the exam and you could have a brand-new certificate before Christmas.

Then, as frightening as it sounds to already be talking about it, you can head into 2027 with another qualification on your CV, another certification on your LinkedIn profile and, more importantly, more knowledge than you had this year.

Your Turn to Go Back to School

Learning doesn't stop when we leave education.

Or at least, it shouldn't.

The most capable professionals I've worked with are rarely people who believe they already know everything. They are curious. They ask questions. They read. They attend courses. They challenge themselves and continue building their knowledge throughout their careers.

So as another school year begins, take the hint from the kids.

Get learning again.

You might feel rusty.

You might have forgotten what revision feels like.

You might even wonder why you have voluntarily signed yourself up for an exam!

But push yourself anyway.

Your career is far too long to stop learning at the beginning of it.

After all...

Every day's a school day.

Make sure some of them count.