What are “Professional Development” benefits? Professional Development benefits are a part of one’s benefits package that are designed to cover all or part of the cost of educational activities that are likely to contribute the success of an individual in their current or future positions within an organization.

Does my company offer professional development benefits?

Many organizations offer some form of professional development benefits. Sometimes these opportunities are disclosed in the Employee Handbook. Other times, they are a part of one’s contract. And sometimes, there is no specific professional development policy, but requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

How do I know if I have access to them?

There are three ways to know for sure if your organization offers professional development benefits.

Read your entire Employee Handbook.
If offered, it will likely be discussed in the benefits or education section.

Read your entire employee contract.
If offered, it will likely be in the benefits, education, or salary section.

Ask your HR/Recruiter.
HR and/or company recruiters are usually the most knowledgeable about what is available to employees in terms of professional development. Even if your company does not have a specific policy, your HR team will likely know if it is something that is able to be reviewed for you.

If you need help with any of these, we would be happy to help you.
Set up a meeting with one of our experts here. Or download our sample request letters here.

How do I take advantage of these benefits?

Every organization is different in the way that they administer opportunities like these. Usually the best way to start the process is to simply ask your manager or HR department if this is something you have available to you.

We’ve made it easy to do this with sample request letters you can use to officially request to have them pay for these classes and, if you still have questions, you can connect with a member of our team who will help walk you through the process.

Or, if you’d like to download this document, click below.