Equipping Today’s Workforce with Future-Proof Skills

In a rapidly changing world that has been deeply affected by the recent pandemic, war, globalization, and changing global trends in technology and workplace automation; businesses and their employees are finding new ways to adapt.

The post-COVID world has understood that the secret to thriving amidst uncertainty is learning and applying knowledge flexibly and efficiently across situations. Working remotely and serving customers in new and digitally enhanced ways marks only the beginning for most industries.

If the present is a precursor to the next ten years, the working world will see fundamental changes as employees will need to acquire new and critical skills to stay relevant and successful.

If fifteen years ago someone asked us what we wanted to do in life, we wouldn’t have a clue about where we would end up. Similarly, if we didn’t know, imagine the predicament of the generation that is to come.

According to the World Economic Forum, 65% of primary school children today will end up working in jobs that don’t exist currently. That tells us significantly about the breakneck speed at which technology is adapting to newer methods.

Telenor Pakistan is among the many companies around the world that are meeting the rising demand for improved skills by creating an environment that fosters education, exposure, and enhanced practical experience for their employees.

Telenor Pakistan has also been ahead of the curve in implementing the flexible way of work and continuing the practice even as life went back to normal once the lockdowns ended.

Corporations and public entities shifted their interactions with the public to digital platforms for health and safety reasons. As a result, it became evident that there was a rapidly growing demand for enhanced competencies and upskilling across the board.

“Staying competitive and relevant in today’s workplace requires a great deal of effort by businesses and employees both, whether it’s within your industry or beyond,” says Areej Khan, Chief Human Resources Officer at Telenor Pakistan.

“Which is why we never stop looking for ways to upgrade our peoples’ skills and equip them with efficient tools to execute their roles in an age where technology is taking new shape each day.”

Companies in Pakistan are increasingly adopting new learning practices, such as trainings and workshops for their employees. Telenor Pakistan, for example, not only provides platforms but also rewards its employees for advancing their learning and development in the workplace.

The company recently organized a three-day Learning Camp with 34 comprehensive sessions for its employees, where the employees spent 1600+ hours learning about technical and soft skills enhancement and development with a clear roadmap for future growth.

In the modern workplace, employees can gain innumerable benefits from upskilling and reskilling as they advance in their current roles. Both learning trends help a great deal in minimizing any skill gaps that employees may struggle with.

The World Economic Forum states in its ‘Future of Jobs’ report that due to the increasing adoption of technology and automation, half of the global workforce will have to consider reskilling by 2025.

Further strengthening its employees, a philosophy of lifelong learning, Telenor runs a 40-hour challenge for its employees. 16,000 of Telenor Group’s employees are currently using online learning portals to complete courses provided by LinkedIn, Coursera, and other platforms.

Whether it’s audiobooks, podcasts, printed books on a wide variety of subjects, or even classroom training, employees have abundant learning material to choose from.

Upskilling has rapidly shifted from being a requirement for some industries to a necessity for most; 62% of CEOs surveyed recently by LinkedIn believe it’s a top business priority to educate, train and develop their workforce personally and professionally.

They believe that the most sought-after skills include digital marketing, customer relations, data analysis, cybersecurity, and network engineering. Companies of all sizes around the world are learning to adopt new technologies to complement new ways of working.

People development is rising to the top of companies’ priority lists while they optimize technological innovation and the quality of coaching available to their resources.

This is the first time that learning and development experts are faced with a challenging scenario that has elevated their role in supporting important business transformations.

“It is important that organizations recognize change and be ready when the time calls for it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we shifted to remote work, while ensuring engagement and enablement interventions, that helped our employees stay connected with work and their people as the world around us started to close,” adds Areej Khan.

Telenor was one of the first few companies to publicly announce a long-term commitment to a flexible way of work at the onset of the pandemic and, now as the situation has changed, a more hybrid way of work has been put in place, with employees working three days from office and two days from home.

These changing times require business leaders to recognize the importance of focusing inward to better support the growth and success of their existing resources. Training programs, like the Learning Camp at Telenor Pakistan, go a long way in the future of work.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 predicts that a shift in the division of labor between machines and humans will disturb approximately 85 million jobs worldwide by 2025. While it may present a grim outlook on the surface, it also offers an opportunity for 97 million new jobs emerging from the same.

This is a great indication of the necessity not only to upskill but also to reskill workforces worldwide. Business Intelligence Development, AI, Machine Learning, Robotics Engineering, and Big Data are some areas that are expected to offer the world’s future workforce great opportunities for sustainable career growth.

By 2030, AI is estimated to lead to an estimated $15.7 trillion, or 26% increase, in global GDP.

The pandemic drastically shifted the way we work, live, and study by pushing us toward finding better and innovative ways around it. After more than two years, it makes sense to move past the survival stage and into the era of continuous technological improvements that might help us in the next crisis.

This is our cue to understand and improve our role in this enormous, ongoing transformation.