As we noted in Chapter 8, c areer development is different from training. Career development has a wider focus, longer time frame, and broader scope. The goal of training is improvement in performance; the goal of development is enriched and more capable workers. Career development is not a one-shot training program or career-planning workshop. Rather, it is an ongoing organized and formalized effort that recognizes people as a vital organizational resource.1

The career development field, though relatively young, has seen tremendous change, largely because career opportunities and paths are less structured and predictable than they were a few decades ago.2 Instead of job security and career-long tenure with one organization, downsizing and technological change now characterize the business world.

Greater uncertainty in the workplace has made clear to most employers and employees that job security and loyalty are being replaced by marketability of skills. Traditionally, a worker’s career consisted of a series of positions of increasing levels of authority at the same organization. Although a formal path within one organization can still define a person’s career, the reality for many workers is that careers are not so linear nor are they limited to one organization. For many of today’s workers, a career may go in a number of directions and encompass a number of employers.

Despite the uncertain business environment, career development remains an important activity. It can play a key role in helping managers recruit and retain the skilled, committed workforce an organization needs to succeed.3 But it can only do so if it meets the dynamic needs of employers and employees.

In the 1970s, most organizations instituted career development programs to help meet organizational needs (such as preparing employees for anticipated management openings) rather than to meet employees’ needs.4 Today, career development usually tries to meet employee and employer needs. Figure 9.1 shows how organizational and individual career needs can be linked to create a successful career development program. Many organizations view career development as a way of preventing job burnout (see Chapter 16) and improving the quality of employees’ work lives.5

This changed emphasis has largely resulted from a combination of competitive pressures (such as downsizing and technological changes) and workers’ demands for more opportunities for growth and skill development.6 These factors have made career development a more difficult endeavor than it used to be. There may no longer be a strict hierarchy of jobs from which a career path can easily be constructed. Career development today requires workers’ active participation in thinking through the possible directions their careers can take.

An organization must make career development a key business strategy if it intends to survive in an increasingly competitive and global business environment.7 In the Information Age, companies will compete more on their workers’ knowledge, skill, and innovation levels than on the basis of labor costs or manufacturing capacity.8 Because career development plays a central role in ensuring a competitive workforce, it cannot be a low-priority program offered only during good economic times.