ICTISC signs MOU with USJP to bridge skills gap
ICT Industry Skills Council (ICTISC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of the Marketing Management of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJP).
The main objective of signing the MOU is to improve students’ competency, soft skills and thus employability quotient and it is also aimed at fostering a long-lasting relationship among the parties and exchanging knowledge in the areas of human resources, soft skills and information technology.
Furthermore, this will provide opportunities to marketing management undergraduates in grabbing exclusive internship programmes provided by institutions along with a series of ICT programmes conducted by ICTISC, Sri Lanka.
The agreement will also strengthen the links between academia and industry while transferring knowledge and skills across parties, and will also empower the youth in their career development.
The agreement was signed in the presence of USJP Vice-chancellor Prof. Sampath Amaratunge, Dean of the faculty of Management Studies and Commerce Dr. Anura Kumara, Head of the Department of Marketing Management Dr. Amila Jayarathna, Senior Lecturer Dr. Lalith Chandralal, Chairman of ICTISC Chinthaka Wijewickrama, Vice-chairman Eng. Arjuna Manamperi, General Manager Charika Yahampath, a host of other distinguished guests, lecturers and students from the Marketing Management department.
Commenting on the partnership, Vice Chancellor Prof. Sampath Amaratunge said: “In today’s world, it is well known fact every subject, every profession is connected with the computer, information and communication technology. Hence we cannot deny the importance of the knowledge of information technology. Undergraduates those who study marketing management at the university, now has the opportunity to make their future marketing career more successful by gaining ICT knowledge and experience. And we are delighted to be able to enter into an agreement with an organisation representing the IT industry.
This is a great move as we collaborate with a partner like ICTSC, interested in investing in the youth by providing them the chance to put theory to practice. We at USJP seek to provide a holistic experience to all our learners under this agreement.”
Speaking on behalf of ICTISC, Chairman Chinthaka Wijewickrama stressed the importance of working with leading universities in the country to close the gap between what the market requires and what is taught in class.
“Despite the fact that there are ample job opportunities in the labour market, almost in every sector, Sri Lankan youth are highly lacking job competencies required by the corporate sector. Sri Lankan system of education is criticised severely because it doesn’t have a syllabus that is career oriented or focused on jobs. This clearly indicate the necessity to revamp the existing education curriculum in the country and to have a proactive and constant dialogue between degree awarding and vocational training institutes in the country to address this issue to a great extent,” Wijewickrama said.
“The innovation of the ICT in modern teaching is crucial for national development. In this background, ICT should be inculcated in the educational system in the country for teaching and development. This will ensure that local educational system would be able to cater to ever-changing requirement in the job market,” he added.
He further noted that there are ample job opportunities for marketers in the field of Information Technology. However, he noted that students pursuing a Bachelor of Marketing Management degree are reluctant to enter the marketing profession, especially in IT companies as they think they are completely unfamiliar with this area.