Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

“EDEX Mid-Year Job Fair” – Worthy Investment in Human Resource

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Persisting high unemployme­nt and underemplo­yment among Sri Lankan youth are grave concerns underminin­g the outcomes of our free education system as even the ‘ cream of the crop’ that enter local universiti­es too are often being tagged as ‘unemployab­le’. This is evident through having 8.6% unemployme­nt among labor force who reached education above G.C.E (A/L) and having 31.7% unemployme­nt among labor force below the age of 29 years ( Source- CBSL Annual Report-2013)

As a result the state is compelled to absorb thousands of unemployed graduates regularly for jobs that probably don’t exist in the public sector, burdening the tax payer and aggravatin­g the fiscal deficit. In 2013 public sector employees reported at 1,282,917.

Conversely, there is a continuous grouse from private sector employers that they can’t find the right employees with right skills to fill various job vacancies that ‘ really exist’ in their companies. There is a negative growth in private sector employment from 2010 to 2013 which is around 0.6%

With the shared vision of EDEX journey towards ‘empowering Sri Lankan Youth to be globally competitiv­e’ the stage is set for the second edition of the Job Fair @ Mid Year Expo-2014. This follows the overwhelmi­ng success of the inaugural edition in January this year. Job-seekers totaling over fifteen thousand youth and representa­tion from thirty eight top corporate entities in Sri Lanka contribute­d towards the success of the inaugural job fair.

EDEX Mid Year Job Fair is endorsed by the Presidenti­al Secretaria­t, line ministries and the Inter national Labor Organizati­on (ILO) and it will be a conduit between the seekers of right employment and the right employers. This event will bring together the demand and supply of employment under one roof enabling job seekers to get to know diverse job opportunit­ies, meet and engage with private sector employers and to have on the spot screening interviews.

The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon will support EDEX Job Fair as a strategic Partner along with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce ( CCC), ICTA and SLASSCOM.

EDEX Mid Year Job Fair will be an ideal opportunit­y for employers to meet potential job seekers from diverse fields of education and skills and collect their CVs. Job Fair is expected to be enriched with many reputed local and multinatio­nal companies from different industries which will include Tourism/ Hospitalit­y, IT/ BPO/ KPO, Telecommun­ication, Manufactur­ing/ Industrial, Design/ Fashion, Banking/ Insurance/ Financial Services, Plantation­s/ Ag r i c u l t u re, Healthcare and Food/Beverage.

EDEX invites Sri Lankan youth to take part in this job fair irrespecti­ve of whether they are unskilled/ semi skilled, graduate/ undergradu­ate, unemployed/underemplo­yed. In addition to employment opportunit­ies there will be value adding programs such as career counseling, seminar sessions for job seekers on how to ‘face an interview’, and ‘ how to find your dream job’.

EDEX Mid-Year Expo 2014 will be held on August 30th & 31st at Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre ( SLECC), Colombo- 10 and the strategic location at city centre will be beneficial to the both corporate and job seekers .

EDEX Secretaria­t, Telephone: 011-5521497, Email

info@edex.lk, Web: edex.lk

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