Mindset of a Lifelong Learner: The Ongoing, Voluntary and Self-Motivated Pursuit of Knowledge
By | Neeti Sharma | President & Co-Founder, TeamLease EdTech Limited | www.highereducationdigest.com
Neeti has over 27 years of diverse experience in the domain of Outsourcing including Employment & Employability, Customer Relationship, Operations, Technical Training, Profit Center Management and International Business Development. Current focus is to set up a self-sustaining Employability and Employment models with various network of centers that profile, assess, train and certify job seekers across all profiles and cities / towns linking various stakeholders like Government, Educational Institutes, NGOs and Training Centers to cater to the manpower requirements (entry and middle level) of the organized and unorganized corporate sectors. Neeti has previously been associated with organizations such as Aptech Limited, Mittal Group of Companies & Goodearth Organics. She holds a Masters in Economics & Statistics and a Masters in Marketing Management from Symbiosis Institute of Management.
The world of work is changing and so are workplace skills. We are already seeing that technology/machine/robots are replacing many jobs, but at the same time newer jobs are being created, thereby increasing the need for new skills. Employees needs to keep upskilling, reskilling and learning continuously, no matter at what stage of your career they are at in order to remain relevant and in demand. Employees need to remain agile, adapt to change quickly and be prepared for any role that is given to them. Lifelong learning will help you stay relevant and employed. A lifelong learner will be able to focus on learning continuously, learn skills that are in demand today and will be in demand tomorrow and be future-ready.
Today, learning is for everyone. Traditionally, we have heard that learning is only for children and adults seeking to gain employment, however, that is not enough now. A lifelong learner has to learn, do, unlearn, learn do, rest, learn, do, unlearn and continue to repeat this cycle continuously. A growth mindset invites better possibilities for the future of the employees.
In order to keep learning and flourish at your workplace, follow these best practices:
- Take charge of your own development – Employees today need to stay abreast with the changes that are taking place around them, changes in technology, processes and much more. While creating a culture of Lifelong learning is not just the employees’ responsibility, the employer shares the same and has to focus on enabling learning for it’s employees, the employees should chalk a clear learning goal, identify the right skills & certifications, skills training providers and measure their progress. Employees should also take help from mentors & coaches who can guide and help them on their learning journey.
