It can be daunting to present your manager with the idea of attending a course. Employees often feel as if they are wasting company time and money, however, research shows that this is not the case at all. Continuing professional development has been proven to  increase employee happiness, loyalty, and productivity. 


Let’s discuss some valuable tips to convince your manager to approve your participation in the course that you’ve bookmarked. 


1. Demonstrate Value for the Company and Yourself

When presenting your manager with a plan to attend a course, it is important to clearly explain the added value it will bring to the company and to yourself. Ensure you review the course details thoroughly and highlight the areas which will specifically help in your professional development and thus add value to the company. 


Most organisations value the development of their employees and have some budget set aside for such endeavours. In some cases, there may even be some Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits to be granted for attending courses. For example, several of the Yordas Insight courses have been certified by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and will allow you to earn some CPD credits.


Finally, if you can, list some specific, measurable benefits and outcomes this course will have for you and your work. For example, this course will help me to understand the regulatory background of Safety Data Sheets and therefore ensure I prepare and supply correct SDS to maintain our company’s compliance with key regulations.


2. Fill out the necessary paperwork

Show initiative! Often, your manager will need your request in writing. Research your organisation’s policy on professional development and fill out the required paperwork ahead of time. 


This will not only impress your manager, but it will also save them a lot of time and effort in doing this themselves.


3. Build a Proposal

It is important to make your manager’s decision as easy as possible. Presenting all of the information they need in one document will dramatically improve your chances of approval. 


Think like your manager! What questions would you ask if you were in their position?

  • “What’s the total cost, including hotel, food comp etc.” 

  • “Is there any funding available for this?”

  • “How will this impact your day-to-day performance going forward?”


Try to come up with answers to all of these questions and include them in your proposal.


Professional development is essential for your career progression, and we hope the tips included in this blog post will make the process much simpler. Demonstrating the value to the organisation and yourself, and making your manager’s job as easy and simple as possible will go a long way in getting your course approved. 


For more tips from Yordas Insight, click here


Browse our e-learning courses and virtual classrooms here.


Request a custom in-house course here.