Telenor Pakistan Virtually Welcomes Open Mind Pakistan Programme’s 7th Batch

As an equal opportunity employer promoting an accessible environment and inclusive approach, Telenor Pakistan virtually welcomes the seventh batch of its Open Mind Pakistan programme, reiterating its commitment towards reducing inequalities.  Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Telenor Pakistan, while swiftly adapting to the new normal,  remains dedicated towards continuing its flagship programme virtually. Forging strategic partnerships, raising awareness through advocacy, trainings and volunteerism, and all the while providing safe and remote accessibility, Open Mind Pakistan remains the most sought after management trainee program for the country’s differently-abled individuals. 

The programme focuses on equipping differently-abled trainees at a time of dynamic change to experience new ways of working remotely before they enter a transformed job market.

Telenor Pakistan is among the first companies to encourage employment opportunities for differently-abled persons, facilitating the process through accessible technologies in order to provide a level-playing field for all. The seventh batch of  Open Mind Pakistan programme includes 15 highly capable individuals who will go through comprehensive on-the-job training, along with an exclusively designed knowledge and skills development programme for a full year.The trainees will be placed in different divisions at Telenor Pakistan, including, Commercial, Digital, Corporate Affairs and Technology, where there skills will be honed, they will work on serval projects and have access to experts of their areas of interest. These projects will be evaluated by their managers upon which the trainees will receive further extension based on their performance. The vivacious and diverse group this year includes, six female and nine male trainees. 

“Since the past seven years, Open Mind Pakistan has been breaking barriers and empowering the population with special needs, mainstreaming the marginalised segments of Pakistan through on-job mentoring. The programme perfectly transforms Telenor Pakistan’s ambitions into reliable outcomes with the trainees proving themselves as an integral part of the society by contributing their best to the organisation as well as national development. It makes us proud to see how this programme has turned into an industry best practice for organisations endeavoring to become more diverse and inclusive, said Oystein Bakken, Chief Human Resources Officer, Telenor Pakistan. “I congratulate and welcome the seventh batch of Open Mind to an unforgettable experience and unparalleled culture at Telenor,” he added. 

Under the Open Mind Pakistan programme, Telenor Pakistan has inducted over a 100 extraordinary individuals since 2013, with three-fourth of them managing to land a job. This one-of-a-kind industry-first skills development programme has several success stories including that of Zain Ahmed Malik, who is serving in the Pakistan Merchant Navy as an electrical engineer, and of Wamiq Hasan and Abdul Qadir, who are running a successful startup ‘DeafTawk’ recognised by the Institute of Engineering and Technology and National Incubation Center (NIC).

Telenor Pakistan is one of few companies in the country to strategically take up the initiative and demonstrate promising results. With the goal of empowering society, fostering growth and opportunities, Telenor Pakistan remains focused on harnessing digital power for the inclusion of people of all abilities, and, hence, adds more to its arsenal of corporate responsibility.