An unexpected career change led to L&D

Meet Samer Jabr

Samer moved from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates in 2016, to kick off his career with PwC Middle East as an Assurance Graduate. Two years later, he joined the Learning and Development (L&D) team working on cross Line of Service L&D initiatives, to finally start a new journey as the Tax and Legal Services L&D Lead. Here’s his story.

What is a work achievement you’re proud of?

One of my biggest achievements was taking the lead on organising LEAP, a learning and development programme for our star Senior Associates (SAs). It was the last in-person event that I organised, where we took around 270 SAs from all over the region to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi for a two days training. The reason for mentioning this specific event is that the event had a 99% satisfaction rate - one of the best rated events at that time.

What do you like most about working at PwC?

No matter what career stage I was at, I received the same structured development opportunities that made me feel at home straight away. Naturally, the skills I brought were valued, but there was a lot to learn, and that made my development journey with PwC Middle East a constant and personal one, tailored to fit each level of my career.

It’s a unique experience where you get to meet a diverse group of people with different cultural and educational backgrounds. The environment and collaboration spurs innovation and brings in new perspectives that help us build trust and deliver sustained outcomes to our people, clients and society. 

These people then become your colleagues and lifelong friends with a close bond that goes beyond the scope of work: we hangout, we grab lunch, dinner, coffee together - they have become what I would like to call my PwC family.

What is a piece of advice you can share?

In the fast moving and challenging conditions that we are operating in, work-life balance may become tricky to manage - but it’s up to us to take care of ourselves. We all have myriad professional and personal commitments, and it can become overwhelming, but small habits can break this pattern and these include walking meetings, short breaks between calls, light exercise, a good book to read, digital detox etc. 

Share with us a fun fact about yourself

I am a big Manchester United fan and a Cleveland Cavaliers fan.