How to convince your boss to let you study

Further education has a ripple effect. It benefits not just the student, but their family, society at large, and often their employer.

However, a common obstacle in the journey to adult education is existing work. Work, of course, is immensely time-consuming, and many employers don’t see the benefit in being flexible when staff want to upskill.
Here are a few ways to convince your boss to let you study – and why it’s in their best interest to accommodate you.

Research your workplace
You might not be the first person in your workplace to study part-time. (We hope you’re not.) So talk to colleagues, HR or your boss about precedent. There might be procedures in place to help you. Some employers even try to accommodate with flexible hours or financial aid.

Tell them that it will benefit the company
This is probably the most compelling argument: When a staff member upskills, they bring those benefits to their work. In the case of Code Institute’s courses, this might mean coding skills, web or app building, harnessing the power of data or the cloud, or other skills.
You’ll also be able to share much of this expertise with your colleagues, and it will look good for the company.
Every company is a tech company now: They have (or should have) a web presence and an understanding of the benefits and risks that technology brings.

Reassure them that it won’t affect your work negatively
Our courses are available in different formats and times. You can learn to code full-time for three months, part-time over the course of a year, online, in class, or virtually (live, online classes). Many of our students work full-time jobs while taking our courses.
It is a demanding course – you will learn a lot, and in a relatively short space of time. But our students have enough time to fulfil their professional duties and complete the course. We designed it that way.

Promise to stay after graduation (even if for a short time)
Most bosses know (or should know) that a happy worker is a productive one. And they should also be aware that finding and replacing staff is inefficient and costly.
If your boss is worried that you’ll leave after upskilling, reassure them that you will stay after you finish the course. You can work together to choose a minimum stay period after graduation. And you can offer to put it in writing for their peace of mind. 

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