5 Important Tips to Consider Before Learning a Trade

5 Important Things to Consider Before Learning a Trade

Learning a hand skill puts one ahead of his peers financially speaking, especially during strange economic times like the one we have found ourselves in Nigeria today where people in their hundreds are losing their salaried employment every day. In fact, it is very advisable that parents [especially lower and middle income earning parents] ensure that their kids and wards, male and female, learn at least one handiwork in addition to their bookish education. If these kids don’t grow up finding their food with these skills, they’ll at least help them in reducing the cost of running their families, and perhaps their other business interests. Today, akaolu.com brings to you five very important considerations to make before choosing a trade or skill to learn.

1. Passion and Proficiency: You can learn to become proficient in a skill but you can hardly learn to have passion. Passion is what should drive you. It is the fire that keeps you going in business even when realities become chilling and the road becomes tough. Proficiency is the efficiency that comes natural and improved by learning and practice. If you’re naturally good at arts and designs why wasting your time learning mechanics? Unless you’re sure that you’re multi-talented. Choose a trade you have a great passion for, and be passionate about a trade you’re learning.

2. Target Market: Who needs your skill? You must consider the market you intend to service. Your consideration should include the size of the market, the expansibility or otherwise of the market, the age distribution and gender of your market is also important—so also is the knowledge of the culture of the people. Knowing these will help you in fashioning out a sound strategy to match or beat competition in whatever goods or services you sale. You may not know all of these before going ahead to learn a trade, but don’t be totally ignorant—that’s dangerous!

3. Sustainability/Longevity: Technology is improving daily—and too fast too. And this is greatly changing the way things are done. You need to weigh if the skill you intend to learn has the potential of remaining valuable and sought after till the next decade or two, especially if you intend to make a living through this skill. With the advent of computers the world became very less in need of typewriters and thus typists lost their jobs while some had to upgrade to learning how to use the computer.

4. Improvability: If any new technology competes with the skill you do can you possibly improvise or upgrade to remain relevant? For an office typist to retain his job in an era of computers he had to learn computer operation—he upgraded. With cell phones being cheap and available phone booths are going moribund across the world. If you’re already in the business try not to be taken unawares. Watch the trends and always stay ahead by improving your skill and relevance.

5. Bandwagon Effect: As a final note, I’d advice that you don’t learn a skill ONLY because it seems to be en vogue, and people are making huge cash from it at present. New products or new technologies may come with new skills needs. It’s cool to cash in on this. But just before you do that, consider the first four points in this article. We at akaolu.com wish you all the best in your chosen career.

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