Unilever plans career fair in the South

Unilever is planning to hold ‘Jeewika Athwela’- a career guidance fair at the Technical College in Matara from January 25 to 27 as part of its CSR activity. Marketing Manager Nadeesha Wijesinghe explained that for true progress to occur in a developing country, the active participation of the private sector is essential to increase peoples’ quality of life.

The career fair will be on its third lap next year, as it was previously held in Colombo and then Kandy in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The participation of 30,000 people and an overwhelming response from the youth has driven Unilever to continue the project.

The fair is aimed at helping students answer the critical question of whether to continue their higher education after schooling or join the workforce, Asst. Brand Manager Yussri Omar said. Of the students who sit for the annual O/Level examination, only close to 45% continue to A/Levels, while out of those with the minimum qualifications to enter local universities, only 14.5% are admitted due to lack of space. What happens to the excess is the question. Ajith Jayawardhana, Career Guidance counselor of the Colombo University said that there have been cases where students have been duped by institutes offering professional degrees which turn out to be non-valid.

There were also cases where students return from education abroad only to find that their hard-won qualification is not compatible with the country’s regulations, requirements etc.The ‘Jeewika Athwela’ fair will have a number of counselors to speak one-on-one with the participants.

Jayawardhana reiterated that no recruitment or placements will be done at the fair but that, “we only facilitate a platform”. When asked what Unilever as a business gained from the venture, an official replied, “There is no direct business benefit for us but we believe that if we connect with the youth, somewhere down the line they will begin to empathize with our brands as well”. (TR)