MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Staying relevant in the current work environment goes beyond merely returning to school and improving on one’s skills, says Manchester educator Dr Faithlyn Wilson.

Speaking recently at a seminar organised by adult learners in the Associate of Science degree in Accounting and Human Resource programme at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) campus in Mandeville, Wilson advised professionals to seek to build a personal brand.

Wilson, who is principal of the independent El Instituto de Mandevilla Preparatory School, urged her listeners to be critical thinkers. They should be creative, find ways to communicate their ideas and also collaborate with people of different personality types. Wilson said professionals should remember that excellence is a moving target and they should strive for it at all times.

Wilson said previous marks of achievement in workplaces, such as years of service, were no longer as important as used to be the case.

“One job for life is now a remote possibility. We have to become a brand. We have to be constantly trying to differentiate ourselves and build demand for our product. We have to do what any good business would do with the product ‘me,’ with the product ‘you’,” she said.

Wilson said skills and competencies are being measured with others in the global space and Jamaicans must endeavour to be more qualified to function in that competitive environment.

Also addressing the topic of the skills, competencies and personal qualities required for success in the 21st-century workplace, regional personnel manager for the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) Nerine Belnavis Waite emphasised that in a changing society, clients are more informed and expectations have increased.

“Your clients are expecting a certain level of service from you, (a) certain level of professionalism when they enter your organisation. What we see on the decline … now (is) good customer service,” Belnavis White told her audience.

In addition to the seminar, 26 students pursuing the course also mounted group displays.

MIND facilitator Dr Darcia Roache told the Jamaica Observer Central that the application of knowledge learnt in the three-month course was impressive.

“The good thing about MIND on a whole is that it (teaches) students… how to mix theory with the practical aspect…,” she said, adding that studying as an adult learner can be particularly daunting and required great commitment.