Monday Column: Learning Relearning and Unlearning: The Task Of The 21st Century

Sadeeq Sabo.

 

The illiterate of the 21st century isn't the person that cannot read and write; but a person that cannot learn, relearn and unlearn. ~ Unknown

It's commonplace to hear people spew "it's only in Nigeria that a graduate of tertiary institution of learning who studied Engineering, SLT, Biology education, political science etc working in a Bank". To this people, the people that studied the aforementioned courses of should and must work in their fields of study and yes, ordinarily, it ought to be so but a cursory glance at the inner workings of how these things work would shock the beholder of such line of thinking.

To start with, let's take a sneak peek at the definitions of learning, relearning and unlearn: to learn, is to gain knowledge of or understanding of or skill in by study, instruction or experience. To relearn, is to learn something again probably because of improvement, additional information because the previous has become obsolete or an update has been added. To unlearn is to, put out of one's knowledge or memory because a superior knowledge, context has emerged. You unlearn when the previous knowledge you have is no longer useful or even correct so you discard it and give way for fresh ideas and perspectives because you cannot continue to bandy something that's no longer useful.

Having established the meaning of learning, relearning and unlearning, let's explain why and how people with different trainings work in an industry completely different from that which they received their initial trainings. This labour transition doesn't only show their tenacity and grit but their abilities to optimally use their brains. People that work in places other than their areas of expertise and trainings are not only versatile, but shouldn't be seen as pushovers because it shows their ability to learn new things in short period of time.

Usually, they're not placed on the job. They must have taken their time to add to their skill set on their own without anyone prodding them because they understood the world in which they live. They have already armed themselves with versatility in a world that's constantly changing. Learning, relearning and unlearning isn't for the fainthearted because it's akin to a new start. 

It doesn't end in just skills but also ideas, views and opinions that do not serve the interests of the beholder. In  times that people's jobs are threatened by machines [computers], one has is left with no options but to learn, unlearn and relearn in case things refuse to fall into place.