Edex Expo in Colombo from 17 to 19 January

Saturday, 11 January 2014 11:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ruzaik Farook EDEX exhibition is the largest education exhibition in Sri Lanka. “This is a good opportunity for the youth and this year we will be adding a concurrent Job Fair on a national scale to provide gainful employment opportunities to youth empowered with the right education and necessary skills,” said Chairman of EDEX Kamal Abeysinghe at the media briefing held at the Royal College Union Skills Centre, Colombo. EDEX Expo 2014 is scheduled to be held on 17 to 19 January 2014 at the BMICH and 24 to 25 January at Kandy City Centre. He further said this year Colombo exhibition will showcase nearly 300 stalls with over 250 local and foreign universities from over 20 countries being present directly or through their local agents. Kandy Expo will have around 80 stalls. At EDEX Expo 2014, an unprecedented array of options and opportunities will be on offer for every youth, including those who just finished their G.C.E. (O/L) and those who received G.C.E. (A/L) results, undergraduates and graduates, as well as unemployed and underemployed. As before, there will be full and partial scholarships, spot admissions, discounts on course fees, registrations on offer. In keeping with its vision ‘To empower Sri Lankan youth to be globally competitive,’ EDEX Expo has always been innovative and

alive to the winds of change, thus, successfully exposing the next generation of education and careers to Sri Lankan youth. The inaugural EDEX Job Fair, endorsed and supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), will feature over 35 leading and most sought after organisations showcasing their available job opportunities, with a view of recruiting youth, with desirable personal traits and skills. There will also be seminar sessions advising job seekers ‘how to prepare for one’s dream job’. The Job Fair will be a unique platform for those with suitable qualifications to get recruited and those nearing their courses of study to plan well for the future. They can get to know when and how to become industry ready, by meeting, discussing and interacting with potential employers. Henceforth, EDEX Expo 2014 will be a one-stop platform connecting dots from education to employment. World over, education and training needs continue to evolve constantly as economic demands; technological advancements and factors of competitiveness keep changing. In relation to Sri Lanka’s economic development plans too, the indirect contribution, education and career exhibitions such as EDEX Expo could make, will be significant. According to the Central Bank policy statement announced last week, Sri Lanka aims to expand the economy from an estimated $67 billion to $100 billion in three years overcoming a possible middle income trap when per capita income is expected to cross the $ 4,000 mark. The Government aims to aggressively pursue the five hubs – aviation, shipping, knowledge, energy, and commerce – along with tourism and ICT to propel the economy to achieve this goal and help the country to forge ahead with rapid and inclusive growth. This is a very ambitious goal but appropriate for a country which could not forge ahead economically due to a 30-year war. The success of achieving these goals set by the Government would largely rest on the availability of a skilled work force in abundance to drive business, commerce and industry efficiently, effectively and competitively. However, developing such human resources cannot be done overnight. It requires well-defined policies, robust action plans and a seamless and effective HRD process, which should be rooted particularly in our secondary and tertiary education system, offering equity in access to all income groups. It would be prudent to pursue this process now, to ensure that we have sufficiently skilled workforce by the time new industry ventures are likely to create an unprecedented demand for new jobs. You may be aware, that certain vital sectors in the economy such as the ICT, hospitality and the construction industries already suffer due to lack of adequate number of skilled workers. EDEX Expo this year also includes EDEX Think’n Act Green Exhibition and EDEX Sithuwam Exhibition held concurrently. Stakeholders who have supported throughout who encouraged and supported to launch the job fair include the Presidential Secretariat, all line ministries, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC). ESOFT Metro Campus and ANC Education will continue their long standing partnership with EDEX Expo 2014 as Platinum category sponsors, along with NIBM and NSBM. CINEC, CIMA Sri Lanka, Royal Institute of Colombo and Horizon Campus are the Gold category sponsors, while People’s Bank is the Official Bank of EDEX Expo 2014. Principal of the College Upali Gunesekera also spoke at the event.