Discover Professional Development: Resources for Individual and Collective Growth

As a core value at enFocus, learning is a part of everything we do. Professional development is an extension of the hands-on learning process our Fellows participate in everyday. Our collective effort to advance an individual professionally and personally helps them launch their careers, or take their current career trajectory to the next level.

At enFocus, you will find a holistic approach to professional development where one advances their hard and soft skills to improve their contribution to a team and region. Through mentorship, an individual professional development stipend, and projects that support community learning at large, enFocus provides an encompassing approach to advancing careers.

Mentorship helps the mentee to grow their soft skills, improve their communication, their connections, and gain valuable tools for the future. Fellows are matched with a community leader who has similar professional interests, gives valuable advice, or facilitates introductions with other community partners.

Kartik Maheshwari shares, “At enFocus, effective mentorship serves as a lighthouse, illuminating the path for our fellows as they confidently navigate through complex projects. It goes beyond providing mere solutions; it imparts the wisdom necessary not only to meet but exceed our clients’ needs and requests.” Mentorship not only uplifts individual Fellows, but our entire team as we work together to meet the needs and requests of our Sponsor organizations.

Pictured is Kartik Maheshwari and Shivangi Tiwari as they work together to come up with collaborative solutions.

Another component of professional development is individual learning through our professional development stipend. As an enFocus Fellow, your stipend can help decrease costs of an advanced certification, gaining new skills, or deepening your understanding of an existing capability.

Individual learning advances Fellow capabilities, and expands the variety of resources available to our team. Some team members choose to gather and work on certifications together, motivating one another to find data-driven solutions. Our collaborative learning environment provides a safe environment for our Fellows to work with one another and try new things.

In addition to other great resources, enFocus also provides the unique opportunity to know the opportunities within the community for professional advancement. Will Schwartz, enFocus Innovation Fellow, is working on the project Upskill South Bend. Upskill South Bend is a local adult education program that offers a subsidized, resident-focused program that allows flexible training and exam schedules.

Will Schwartz captured this photo of local participants in the Green Designation Course who are actively pursuing certifications and professional development.

Will describes his work with the City of South Bend and local initiatives. He says, “Upskill is not only available to enFocus employees, but to all local residents who are looking to develop essential technical and foundational skills that are transferable and relevant to any job. My work at enFocus has expanded my knowledge of current professional development resources that are available to both enFocus Fellows, and to the workers who reside in the region.” Our professional development opportunities extend beyond our own practices, but is also reflected in the regional commitment to accessible educational opportunities.

Learning and professional development can come in many forms. Whether it is growing soft skills through mentorship, receiving hands-on experience through individual learning, or acquiring new skills through communal engagement experiences, we will provide the connections and resources to help Fellows gain the skills they need to be successful beyond their two-year Fellowship. Learning through professional development goes beyond individual growth, but strengthens our experience as a team, and enhances the longevity of our regional economic ecosystem.