EDEX EXPO 2016 to promote more opportunities for job seekers

By Shannine Daniel

EDEX EXPO 2016, Sri Lanka’s largest education exhibition and job fair will see the introduction of an ‘Entrepreneurship Zone’ (EZ) in order to generate more job creators than job seekers.

Organised by the Royal College Union, it will be held on 22-24 January at the BMICH and on 29-30 January at Kandy City centre (KCC). Launched in 2004, these twin expos will be the 26th and 27th in the series respectively.

“EDEX believes that it is of great importance to encourage the entrepreneurs who are the job creators,” stated EDEX EXPO 2016 project Chairman Ranga Wijesinghe. 

The introduction of the EZ aims to lessen the gap between the employers and the unemployed in Sri Lanka. 

“The entrepreneurs harbour the ability to sustain the supply of jobs,” Wijesinghe pointed out.

Speaking about the importance of the EDEX initiative to the Sri Lankan economy at present and in future, as well as the global economy on a larger scale Wijesinghe noted that as per a recently announced policy statement of the state, to create 1 million jobs is an undoubted moot point.

He acknowledged EDEX job fair this year will offer nearly 2,500 job opportunities.

EDEX job fair has created a platform for the unemployed and the underemployed to seek out opportunities that match their skills. 

Job seekers will have the opportunity of meeting with several entrepreneurs who will be able to guide the youth in their quest to find a suitable job. They will be encouraged to understand the entrepreneurial process and share their ideas and innovations with a panel of successful entrepreneurs and mentors. 

Held every year since 2014 EDEX Job fair has been successful in providing jobs for a multitude of job seekers. 

Speaking of EDEX Job Fair 2015 Royal College Union Secretary Athula Munasinghe stated that several managerial positions were offered and accepted, while suitable employees were found for numerous jobs at the exhibition.

Endorsed and supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) EDEX Job fair will display over 40 stalls this year.

EDEX has created a platform for the youth of this country to explore choice, options and opportunities in tertiary education as well as career development which are available both locally and globally. 

With the participation of more than 20 countries the exhibition will also consist of 400 exhibition booths, representing both local and foreign universities and institutes. 

This exhibition seeks to invigorate the Sri Lankan youth by providing access to some of the top universities in the world. Key universities from Japan, Malaysia, China, UK, USA, Australia and several other universities will participate.

Wijesinghe further emphasised that enabling environments catered to the proposed digitisation is another key area of EDEX EXPO 2016. 

“In an era where ICT is fast becoming an indispensable tool in any industry or sector, be it the fields of research, production or sales, it will become the hot bed for our youth to explore employment opportunities locally and internationally,” he revealed.

He went on to say that the most critical challenge in Sri Lanka is the skill deficit in general not merely in ICT with regard to productive sectors such as construction, healthcare, agriculture and other sectors. The current inclination of youth to move away from these industries worsens this issue. 

“Having acknowledged this predicament, the Government has actively taken several steps towards bridging this gap, professed Wijesinghe.

“The proposed 10% increase in the university intake surely will give opportunities for the deserving youth to aspire and lead the growth of this country in future,” he continued.

Furthermore Wijesinghe stated that the introduction of technology based programs in local universities encompassing subjects such as data science, actuarial science, bio informatics, business analytics and quantity surveying is also commendable. These will also help to bridge the gap between jobseekers and employers by creating additional job opportunities both locally and globally.

“Although bridging the skill and knowledge gap of a nation is a herculean task for the past 12 years EDEX has endeavoured to empower the Sri Lankan youth to be globally competitive,” he concluded. 

The re-launch of the Edexcareers.lk web platform this year is another approach through which EDEX aims to make tertiary education and employment opportunities more readily available. It is to be the largest single platform in offering various options and opportunities in higher education, skill development and employment. There are plans afoot to build the edexcareers.lk web portal a national database comprising of aspiring Sri Lankan youth, that will cater for the mutual needs of job seekers, higher education and vocational training seekers, higher education institutes and employers.

In 2016 they are re-launching the edexcareers.lk web portal to bridge the gap between job seekers and employers, higher education seekers and higher education seekers and vocational and skills training seekers and training providers.

The launch of the EDEX mobile app is another significant approach. This app gives an overview of all major events taking place at the EDEX organisation. It also has a feature to provide alerts for job or higher education opportunities.

In regard to the public’s response to this exposition Munasinghe noted that they have seen a tremendous growth in numbers from those who visit EDEX over the years. 

This year the number of expected visitors is estimated to be over than 60,000.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara

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