Identity Digital Career Growth & Development

Give us a snapshot of what you do to stay on top of your engineering knowledge and skills. 

I primarily use online videos and, occasionally, books to stay up to date in skills. To keep on top of trends, I subscribe to various YouTube channels and email mailing lists. I don’t have a specific schedule for knowledge and skill-building, but it’s often driven by external factors. For example, if there is something being introduced at work I will often find additional online resources to learn more, even on my own time. And if anything interesting pops up in my YouTube subscriptions or email mailing lists, I will delve more into that.

What are your go-to resources for keeping your engineering skills sharp? 

YouTube has been my primary resource for keeping my skills up to date in recent years. In the past I’ve used learning platforms such as Udemy and Pluralsight. However, I found that most of these platforms focus on very long training courses, which I often do not have time to complete. With YouTube, I can quickly find what specific areas I want to focus on and learn quickly, with different perspectives and explanations from many different content creators. Even more recently, I’ve been leveraging AI tools, which have taken learning to the next level, as it lets me focus even more concisely on specific areas I am interested in.

What does the learning culture look like at your company or on your engineering team?

Our company provides paid online training resources and high-quality tools for the team to use, such as JetBrains and AI tools, which has helped tremendously with both productivity and learning.

What’s a quote worthy truth about learning on your team?

Learning has to be easy, relevant and fun!

When learning is simple to access, clearly connected to someone’s role and reinforced through gamification, recognition and peer learning, it stops feeling like an extra task and starts becoming part of how we work.

We put this into practice through monthly ‘AI Academy’ sessions. We dig into practical AI tools, share real use cases and brainstorm ways to integrate them into our daily workflows. It’s collaborative, hands-on and designed to make AI feel accessible.

What program has the biggest impact on career development — and how do you measure its success?

Strong leaders change everything for the people around them. 

In a world that keeps demanding more from managers, we think the best investment we can make is in the people leading teams. Our Leadership Development Academy focuses on strengthening core leadership competencies and equipping managers to be true career champions for their teams. When leaders model clarity, accountability and continuous growth, it creates a ripple effect across the company. 

Since launching the program, we’ve seen meaningful increases in manager satisfaction and more employees saying they have clear goals. For us, it reinforces the belief that investing in leaders elevates the entire organization.

Which recurring behavior makes learning or upskilling stick?

Application and practice make learning stick! 

There’s a reason we say, “practice makes perfect.” Skill building is like building muscle. You don’t grow from just one workout; you grow from repeated strain, reflection and adjustment. When teams use new skills in their daily work, that’s when learning becomes real growth.