Exploring the 6 ᴱGROW Growth Profiles: Finding Your Career Direction
In a rapidly shifting labour market, a traditional CV or single job title rarely captures a person’s full potential. Career journeys are non-linear, shaped by changing circumstances, evolving digital technologies, and personal goals.
To support a more human-centred and flexible approach to lifelong learning, the DIAMOND Empower project is developing the Employability Growth Index (ᴱGROW Index). Rather than functioning as a test or rigid classification, the ᴱGROW Index is being designed as a reflective framework that can help individuals better understand their capabilities, identify growth opportunities, and map out supportive next steps.
Central to this framework are the following six sample ᴱGROW Growth Profiles. These action-oriented profiles illustrate different directions people may take as they build confidence, strengthen future-ready skills, and identify the support they need to move forward.
Understanding the 6 ᴱGROW Growth Profiles
The six ᴱGROW Growth Profiles provide an accessible way to explore different stages and directions within an employability journey. They are not fixed categories, but illustrative profiles reflecting different goals, needs, and opportunities for growth.
- The Explorer
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- Focus: Discovering new career directions and opportunities.
- Who it reflects: Individuals open to exploring new sectors, assessing their transferable skills, or considering fresh professional avenues.
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- The Rebuilder
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- Focus: Rebuilding confidence, experience, or career trajectory.
- Who it reflects: People returning to the labour market after disruption, career gaps, or life transitions who benefit from confidence-building and supportive validation.
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- The Pathfinder
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- Focus: Seeking structured guidance and clear step-by-step direction.
- Who it reflects: Job seekers or learners who benefit from practical action plans, mentoring, and clear learning pathways to move forward.
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- The Connector
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- Focus: Strengthening professional networks and community engagement.
- Who it reflects: Individuals looking to build collaborative connections, engage in peer learning, and tap into new labour market opportunities through networking.
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- The Future-Skills Builder
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- Focus: Developing digital, green, AI, or future-ready capabilities.
- Who it reflects: Learners focusing on transformative capabilities to adapt to digital transitions and green economy demands.
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- The Accelerator
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- Focus: Ready to advance, level up, and take the next step.
- Who it reflects: Individuals with established confidence who are seeking targeted micro-credentials or specialised learning to progress quickly.
A Framework for Empowerment, Not Classification
A fundamental principle behind the ᴱGROW Index is that a growth profile should never become a fixed label or judgement. Instead, the profiles reflect the idea that an individual’s needs, strengths, and direction can change over time as their skills, confidence, circumstances, and opportunities evolve.
By bringing together empowerment capabilities, such as career adaptability and self-direction, with transformative capabilities, including digital literacy and green awareness, the ᴱGROW framework aims to support more personalised approaches to employability and lifelong learning.
The full ᴱGROW tool is currently being developed within the DIAMOND Empower project. In the meantime, the six Growth Profiles offer a way to begin reflecting on the different directions that career and capability growth can take.
Which ᴱGROW Direction Connects With You?
Are you exploring new opportunities, rebuilding your direction, developing future-ready skills, or ready to accelerate your next career step?
As we continue developing the ᴱGROW framework, we want to hear from our community.
Which ᴱGROW career direction connects with you most right now?
Join our poll and share which direction best reflects your current goals.
Funding Agency: European Research Executive Agency (REA)
