CCC emphasises on creating demand driven education system

By Charumini de Silva

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) urged the tertiary education regularity bodies and private sector institutions to enact necessary steps to address the national issue of employability of graduates without further delaying as the late birds will have no worms and will not survive in the run of competition.

Announcing the first job and entrepreneurship fair ‘Careerlead’ organised by the Young Members Forum of the CCC in collaboration with the Career Guidance Unit of the Rajarata University on Monday, CCC Secretary General and CEO Mangala Yapa emphasised that the chamber has identified the youth of the country as the core of economic growth in a developing country like Sri Lanka. 

He said Sri Lanka is in need of the creation of a demand driven education system and creating an enabling environment that promotes creativity improves the quality of basic and tertiary education which provides opportunity for lifelong learning.

Noting that the Government alone cannot resolve this national issue he said: “Addressing the issue of youth employability is a very complex process but if all stakeholders work together it is not going to be impossible.”

Yapa asserted that youth force is one of the most powerful tools used to strengthen the economy and said that it was important to create a platform like ‘Careerlead’ to bridge the gap of connecting the undergraduates to the employment opportunities in the corporate world.

Steps should be taken to guide university undergraduates to develop not only their academic and technical skills but also other soft skills which will form them out to be ultimate individuals that the workforce industry could be in search of, he added. 

However, we see these steps working at their preliminary stage and only few major industrial contributions are there at the moment. Thus, policies should be enforced to universities insisting them to build up links with the corporate world where they could be the guidance for students giving adequate training facilities and skill level practices required to fit into the industry such as communication skills, problem solving, team working, planning and organising, self management and technological skills.

Further he said: “As a country, we cannot only focus on the Western Province, we need to look at regional integration as well. This is one of the reasons why we selected Rajarata University for this program.”

With Sri Lanka aiming to reach an export target of $ 50 billion and a per capita income of over $ 7,000; the country cannot expect the skills to be imported. “We need to have competent and skilled people to take on this challenge. We can borrow funds from banks and adopt technological advancements but we cannot borrow skills and competencies,” he noted.

Although Sri Lanka’s employment market has plenty of space to grow with the boosting economy; lack of qualified graduates that fit into these opportunities is a key concern in today’s context. 

“We need the fullest cooperation from the public sector universities, technical and vocational education and training sector, University Grant Commission (UGC) and other tertiary educational institutes as the private sector seek for opportunities for orientation,” he added. 

Citing an example he said the Japanese experience of improving labour market outcomes of training through close links with the industry, continuous curriculum development and introduction of new programs focused on skill requirements of the job market can help meet the demand for skilled labour in domestic and foreign markets alike. Thus, Sri Lanka needs to reach this level to bring these two components of employment and opportunity.

Yapa said the program will provide over 100 job opportunities for undergraduates of Rajarata University, Jaffna University, Wayamba University and South Eastern University where over 45 companies will take part as potential recruiters. The program will be held on 10 and 11 September at the Rajarata University premises.

The International Labour Organisation, South Asia gateway Terminals, People’s Bank, NDB, Dialog, Rexona, Sunshine Healthcare, Hayley’s Group, CIC and Royal Holidays are the sponsors of the event.   

Rajarata University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ranjith Wijayawardana said that the ‘Careerlead’ program is a great platform for students to groom themselves for industrial training.

“We see great value in committing resources and effort in enterprises coming forward to provide opportunities to students particularly in enhancing employability of new entrants to the labour market,” he added.

Noting that there is a lot of room for improvement in the education system Prof. Wijayawardana asserted that the universities are now producing students that are competent in both knowledge and skills compared to the knowledgeable graduates that used to pass out a few years ago. 

Pix by Lasantha Kumara