Job opportunities galore at EDEX fair

The much-publicized EDEX education Expo had more to offer visitors than education opportunities with a number of organizations offering students a view of what the job market has for them.

EDEX Platinum sponsor, Brandix was present, in an attempt to promote the apparel industry as a viable career path for school-leavers. At the exhibition representatives from Brandix were busy explaining to the visitor what the company had to offer: management positions and internships. Speaking to The Sunday Times FT, Kishani Navaratne, Manager Corporate Communications explained that the firm needed a young and dynamic work force, and EDEX has given them the chance to explore these possibilities. The bulk of the interested students are post A/Level students, she said adding that many of them were also interested in the programme Brandix is offering in affiliation with RMIT Australia. “This is a good chance for us to recruit, and we’re getting a really good response,” she said. She also said that the applicants seemed genuinely interested in the firm and joining it.

Virtusa offered a different deal for a different group of people. The global IT firm that specialises in off-shore IT work for multinationals is looking out for young, qualified individuals to join the team. “ Most school-leavers are not aware of what the IT industry really is, so for them this is an eye-opener about what exactly they can do after they go in for higher education”, were the words of Krishanthi Sriskantha, Senior Executive-Sales and Marketing.

The bulk of the visitors to the stall were undergraduates. Interestingly, Sriskantha said that many people with steady jobs also came in. “They’re looking for a change from their everyday job,” she says, adding that most are attracted to the challenge of the growing industry. Virtusa was also showcasing the position available in their ‘Corporate’ section, which encompasses Human resource management, CSR, Training and various other sub-divisions. According to Sriskantha, many of the visitors to the stall had been interested in these sections as well. Prospective employees were filling in their names into the database, and Sriskantha says the company will choose a few to join their organization later.

A little bit of everything was represented. The BPO sector was making its presence felt as well. The stall of BPO Service (Pvt.) Ltd was offering positions in their medical transcriptions BPO. According to Administrative Executive M.F. Mohommed Fazmy, the students who visited the stall were basically unaware of the workings of the BPO industry. This problem was solved by the representatives of the company who were educating the students who visited the stall. “We don’t want them to come and pick up a brochure and leave,” says Fazmy. The students know exactly what it is they are applying for before they do it. The response, he says has been better than last year, with more students showing interest.

In the present context, after finding the right university, the next step is funding the venture. The official bank for the event, NDB Bank was there, offering special education loans. The loans are at lower-than-market rates and NDB Bank has increased the re-payment period as well. Ali Ahlam of NDB Bank told The Sunday Times FT that there are a number of schemes aimed at ingraining the saving habit in young students that NDB was publicising as well, and that the parents’ response has been enthusiastic.

The irony of the ‘Expo’ is that it encourages students to leave the country, creating a massive brain drain from Sri Lanka. Project Chairperson of the Expo, Kamal Abeysinghe however believes that they are offering the best possible option for Lankan students. “It is better that we encourage them to leave and develop properly, so that they may come back and do some good, than breed sub-standard brains here,” he points out.

The point of the fair is to line out the options the students have so that ignorance does not become a barrier to their studies. According to Abeysinghe, EDEX has tried to get the local education sector interested, but to no avail.

With the exception of the University of Moratuwa, no other local university was preset at the fair. He went on to explain that they has contacted the University of Colombo and even offered free stalls, but that they had not been interested. Abeysinghe’s point is that if the local education sector in unable to fully realise the potential of the student population, fairs like EDEX should be able to point them to places that will.