Talks@PTCL: Upskilling That Works

Talks@PTCL continues to provide a knowledge-sharing platform for both students and professionals alike. The most recent talks were by Mujeeb Zahur, Managing Director, S&P Global, who provided valuable insights into the importance of upskilling – how to improve your skills to stay updated and relevant in today’s changing market and landscape. By executing strategies and working with the majority of leaders in various functions, Mujeeb gave a very practical talk on how to incorporate upskilling into one’s life as it’s essential to acquire new skills.

Mujeeb began his talk by emphasizing the need for modernity in education. He further elaborated that conventional education does little to prepare the students for their professional lives. Sometimes fresh graduates find themselves in a position where they have to unlearn their theoretical concepts and learn relevant skills in order to survive in the professional set up. It’s even tougher for high achievers when they find themselves in a professional environment which is different from in a classroom where they were the star pupil.

In order to acquire new skills, it is important that there is an eagerness to learn and adapt, for a brighter future. Everyone, regardless of their age and position, should be willing to upgrade their skills and knowledge base. He pointed out improvement areas where Pakistanis need to focus, such as collaborating as one team, internal & external communication, making timely decisions and solving problems as they come, amongst others. Though none of these are technical issues, however, such learning is still imperative in the workplace.

Mujeeb further explained that skills such as cognitive thinking are more important than rote learning to progress in your professional life. In today’s digital era, where artificial intelligence is replacing most of the manual work, it becomes even more significant that we constantly evolve to stay relevant. Here it is pertinent to mention that technology has also contributed to an increase in jobs – while 3.5M jobs were lost due to influx of internet, there was also an increase of approx. 19M jobs.

The key takeaway from the session was that the ability to learn and unlearn skills will help one get ahead. The worst thing that you can do to yourself is to remain oblivious to the need for change coming your way or refuse to accept it that can then adversely impact your career path. You can aspire to become an even better leader by developing skills that include taking feedback positively, learning new technology, fostering creativity and using these avenues for your growth.

In conclusion, Mujeeb reiterated the fact that organizations can only do so much and at the end of the day, the onus is on the employees to take this opportunity and better themselves. 

He also took this opportunity to praise PTCL for bringing an initiative like Talks@PTCL for its employees as well as external stakeholders like students, professionals, etc. With varied and interesting talks from dynamic speakers, PTCL has already provided a platform on their digital handles for the general public to learn and take inspiration from.