New Year, New Skills - Learning resolutions you'll want to keep

New Year is the perfect time to set fresh goals and make resolutions for personal growth.

If you’re setting career goals in 2026, defining your long-term vision or setting objectives like learning a new skill or seeking a promotion, then support is at hand to help you on the road to success.

VetPartners is relaunching its Career Pathways programme this spring to support colleagues with their professional development.

Find out more here....

NEW resources will be launched on our VetPartners Learning platform to help support training and development and provide practice tips to help you get to where you want to be in your career.

Whether you’re working as a receptionist, a veterinary nurse, a vet or in a non-clinical role, there will be a specific career pathway to help you learn new skills, gain confidence in your role and find the right resources to support your career journey.

Over the last 12 months, practice teams and Business Development Directors have collaborated to enhance the previous Career Pathways resources to make it even better and develop new PDR forms.

The newly evolved Career Pathways programme will be rolled out to clinical teams working in practice in the UK this Spring, before it is available for central team and non-practice roles.

VetPartners Learning and Development Manager Jo Oakden said: “The purpose of our Career Pathways programme is to support people to be the best they can be in their role and to understand the expectations of their role.

“It helps with succession planning, skills mapping and talent spotting, and enhancing people in the role they are in. It isn’t about progression to leadership responsibilities or a new role, but the advantage of being part of a group is that progress is available across our business.

“The toolkit will hopefully empower teams to talk about their own career and role and allow line managers to support and develop team members and provide clarity around what the role looks like.”

New Year, New Skills - Jo’s top tips for setting career goals for success

• Reflect on your career so far

Start by taking stock of your achievements, challenges, and lessons learned in the past year. Ask yourself what accomplishments you’re proud of, what skills you’ve developed and where there is room for improvement. Self-reflection will provide a foundation for setting meaningful goals.

• Define your career goals

Think about where you want to be in the next year, five years, or even 10 years. Perhaps you’d like to advance to a leadership position, learn a new skill or certificate or move into a specialist area. What can you do to continue to do your role to the best of your ability? Development doesn’t have to mean progression.

• Set SMART goals

Use the SMART framework to ensure your goals are

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-bound

• Take action

Access the Career Pathways resources, speak to your line manager and perhaps shadow a colleague who has the skills you want to learn.

Look at resources on the VetPartners Learning platform or look into external training such as certificates and diplomas or internal training.

Joining a VetPartners CIG might give you inspiration.

Remember, all colleagues have access to a CPD allowance from VetPartners – that’s £1,750 for vets, £600 for veterinary nurses and £250 for all other roles.

Article by Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director. Email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk