“Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.”
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or the Net Generation, are the demographic cohort that directly follows Generation X. The term Millennials is usually considered to apply to individuals who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century. This is the generation that grew up in an electronics-filled and increasingly online and socially-networked world. These are the generation that has received the most marketing attention. As the most ethnically diverse generation, Millennials tend to be tolerant of difference. Having been raised under the mantra “follow your dreams” and being told they were special; they tend to be confident.
Millennials grew in the computer age where technology has always been at their fingertips. From information to day-to-day activities like shopping or movies, they get it anything, anytime and anywhere using their smartphone devices. This makes them adapt to technologies and they tend to adjust readily to new programs, operating systems (OS) and devices and to perform computer-based tasks more quickly than older generations.
One reported result of Millennial optimism is entering into adulthood with unrealistic expectations, which sometimes leads to disillusionment. Many early Millennials went through post-secondary education only to find themselves employed in unrelated fields or under employed and job hopping more frequently than previous generations. Their expectations may have resulted from the very encouraging, involved and almost ever-present group of parents that became known as helicopter parents. To say that we live in a changing world understates the speed of both the pace and the scope of ongoing change. While we’re all born with an intense desire to learn, somewhere along the line many of us lose our passion for learning.
The Skills You Have and the Skills They Want
The pharmaceuticals industry has evolved greatly in terms of work management. Just like any other sector, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly creeping into most of the activities happening in the industry. This Change is inevitable because AI provides high efficiency with a high degree of reliability. Thus, it is most likely that all the repetitive tasks will soon become obsolete. Maybe the process which requires 100 to 150 employees to handle will be entirely operated with robots under the supervision of a single person.
In the modern age of technology, we cannot overlook the fact that most important skills that recruiters are looking for in a candidate today are the HR skills, also known as soft skills. To be able to communicate effectively is the basic and most necessary requirement for a healthy work culture, and a hiring manager will take all possible precautions to ensure that the person joining his company fulfils these criteria. Learning is a continuous process but it is important to have an attitude of learning. Of course, it’s not about acquiring knowledge for knowledge’s sake. We can all acquire copious amounts of knowledge just by sitting on Wikipedia all day. Your smartphone alone gives you access to more information at your fingertips that you can process it in your entire lifetime, much less actually useful.
The Skills Companies Need Most in 2019
Strengthening a soft skill is one of the best investments you can make in your career, as they never go out of style. Plus, the rise of AI is only making soft skills increasingly important, as they are precisely the type of skills robots can’t automate.
That’s why 57% of senior leaders today say soft skills are more important than hard skills.
According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, it turns out that professionals are keenly interested in learning new skills (which makes us deliriously happy). And learning tends to spike in January, as people start the year focused on building new habits. Here’s a list of top 5 skills that companies are looking for:
- Creativity
- Persuasion
- Collaboration
- Adaptability
- Time Management
You may have noticed that the skills mentioned above are the ones that AI cannot perform voluntarily unless there is a highly complex algorithm applied but eventually will definitely require human intervention. A candidate with high level of emotional intelligence will be preferred over a high level of domain intelligence or hard skills.
LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN
It is not only the skills that we have acquired over the academics that matter, what is more important is the ability of the employee to adapt to change. Adult education experts estimate that up to 40% of what tertiary students are learning will be obsolete a decade from now when they will be working in jobs that have yet to be created. Indeed, the top 10 most in-demand jobs today didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Today the learning needs of the industry is growing daily and there are increasing needs for innovative course developments. Inter-disciplinary studies are more preferred because only the ones with the widest skill set can survive in this highly volatile work environment.
How to stay ahead of the curve?
Just like motivation, a positive learning attitude is difficult to develop and maintain. However, it is possible if you commit yourself to think and act positively. For example, maintaining a quality of openness would allow you to see things beyond your existing paradigms, inspire you to celebrate the joys of learning, and most important of all, empower you to take control of your learning.
The meaning you ascribe to education will serve as your driving force (motivator) in learning. Of course, from time to time depending on the situation, you may have other motives for learning. To find out more about what motivates you, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I study solely for the purpose of getting a degree to advance my job/career prospects?
- Do I study to prove my capability through academic grades?
- Do I study to satisfy my curiosity and learn new things?
Staying motivated in your studies requires a clear purpose and positive learning attitude. It is a conscious choice that you have to make. By spending time to reflect upon what have been discussed above, you can find a perspective to learning that would give you fulfilment and pleasure in your learning experiences. It is always better to be under the guidance of mentors who continuously support and update the freshers with new and latest information. Training programs from an industrial veteran will help a job aspiring candidate to learn a lot about the job scenario and give him the opportunity to apply himself in the best possible way,
One can always learn from the experts and join various training centers running at many places all over India that bridges the gap between the Industrial needs and candidate skills by conducting various training programs. One such well known training centre is Pharma Knowledge Centre at Ahmedabad which provides hands-on training courses and industrial exposure to young and budding pharmacists so they can get better exposure to industrial scenario and train them for the future industry needs.
References:
- Beatrice, J.A. (1995). Learning to Study through Critical Thinking. Ch. 1: ‘College Learning’. Chicago: Irwin, pp. 3–25.
- Carter, C.; Bishop, J.; & Kravits, S.L. (2002). Keys to Effective Learning (3rd ed.). Ch. 1: ‘Becoming a Lifelong Learner’. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 16–20.
- http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/success/sl31.htm
- https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/millennials-millennial-generation
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/02/03/learn-unlearn-and-relearn/#4e7e2bb8676f
Pharma Knowledge Centre – “My Learning Life” (PKC) engaged Young Indian Youths to prepare this presentation/Blog and the same has been prepared by one of the associated youngsters in consultation with PKC.
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