Up-skilling is key to staying employable

Following are key points from the speech delivered by Commercial Bank of Ceylon Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody at the Aquinas University College Faculty of Marketing and Management Graduation ceremony

Commercial Bank of Ceylon Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody speaking at the Aquinas University College Faculty of Marketing and Management Graduation ceremony observed that to be employable in today’s job market, it would require new adaptable ways of thinking and behaving, and adapting to the changing work environment by using practical business skills to find and keep the best jobs, while also bringing value to the employer, which would require us to grow our personal brand.

To do that, he observed, one would need to continuously develop business friendly skills, grow in confidence and devise a personal game plan to stay employable. In the 21st century workplace, he observed people would be expected to overcome new challenges, challenges that will require an entrepreneurial mindset and a fresh way of thinking to make ourselves more marketable and employable, and to set ourselves apart from the crowd.

Commenting on the industry, Weerakkody observed that the financial services sector, tourism, services, and the IT sector, will continue to grow and compete for top talent. There is today a demand at the top for functional specialists in areas like risk management, waste management, supply chain and compliance. The greatest challenge for business will be in attracting and retaining experienced staff capable of delivering the revenue growth potential. At all management levels, the search is on for young and creative talent. The demand continues to outstrip supply.

Further, he said, companies would have to be more focused on building proper management infrastructures and frameworks and to develop creative compensation structures for employees because of the increasing mobility of the Sri Lankan workforce, in addition to creative compensation structures, there is also the need to develop better people management strategies to nurture, develop, and retain the existing skilled talent. The need for processes that are transparent and show a ‘win-win’ desire on the part of management are equally necessary to achieve good results.

Commenting on the education sector, Weerakkody observed that jobs are the cornerstone of development. Jobs boost living standards, raise productivity and foster social cohesion. One of the main forces behind increases in an economy’s per capita output is by making people more productive.

Weerakkody noted that the private sector plays a key role in creating new jobs needed and fostering economic growth. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the constraints that prevent the economy from creating good quality jobs.

Perhaps one of the key challenges for us would be to address the skills mismatch. Therefore, he said it is vitally important to align the skills taught with the skills needed. This would require bringing together various stakeholders to assess the current and future skills needs to sustain economic growth.

Weerakkody also pointed out that our learning institutions need to be mindful of the growing prevalence of technology. The impact will be everywhere and will continue to challenge all industries and jobs and also create a lot of new industries and opportunities.

Weerakkody congratulated Aquinas University for the role played over the years to train young men and women for careers in the public and private sectors.