Job seekers are more than higher education starters

Many educational exhibitions have been held in Sri Lanka in recent times. A larger number of students who have completed O/L and A/L and undergraduates from various parts of the country visit these exhibitions every year to gain knowledge and awareness on how they could plan out the next step of their career.

The Job Fair has become the highlight of the EDEX exhibition which took place twice last year. Students who came last year were more enthusiastic to enter the Job Fair stall than any other stalls, which clearly shows that they are looking for jobs before and while studying part time.

The Royal College Union in Colombo is organising the EDEX Expo Education Exhibition for the 12th consecutive time. The exhibition, considered the largest education exhibition in the country, will be held from January 23 to 25 at the BMICH in Colombo and January 30 and 31 at the Kandy City Centre.

EDEX Expo 2015, Project Chairman Chandana Dissanayake speaking at a media briefing on Monday at the Royal College in Colombo said that the exhibition brings all youth in the country under one educational platform. This exhibition is organised targeting the students who have just completed the GCE O/L and A/L and undergraduates. There will be 300 stalls at the exhibition in Colombo and 100 stalls in Kandy. The Job Fair which was introduced as a new initiative at the exhibition in February last year, will be held only on Colombo this year, added Mr. Dissanayake.

EDEX Expo is Sri Lanka's largest and most comprehensive educational and job fair providing diverse pathways for aspiring Sri Lankan youth. From post-secondary, graduate and post graduate education to technical and vocational training qualifications and ultimately rewarding careers in innovative and emerging sectors of the economy, EDEX also helps enhance the global competiveness of the nation's youth through a single platform.

EDEX has evolved with many value additions such as EDEX Job Fair, EDEX Magazine, EDEX Think Green, EDEX Sithuwam, EDEX Live Your Dream and EDEX Careers all of which will be represented at the Expo showcasing their contribution towards supporting to the vision of EDEX 'Empowering Youth to be Globally Competitive'.

Career Guidance Seminars and Psychometric Tests will continue with the addition of a new seminar series on 'green entrepreneurship' in collaboration with EDEX Think Green and Good Market organisers. This will be a boom to job seekers who would have spent a long time looking for their first job after the graduation.

The EDEX Job Fair endeavours to address the issues of unemployment and underemployment by creating a conducive environment where youth with potential and the right talents can directly meet potential employers of choice whilst assisting corporates to make use of the vast pool of talent so freely accessible to fill in their vacancies with the finest talented youth in Sri Lanka.

The Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF), the most comprehensive and 'looked forward to' exhibition in the North will be held for the sixth consecutive year in the heart of Jaffna from January 23 to 25.

"The exhibition which was the first of the kind to be held in the Northern region of the country has throughout the years been renowned as the best and most potent platform for the meeting of investors, businesses and the masses in the region," the organisers said in a media release.

JITF has been hailed to be the common platform under which networking and expanding of investments, business ideas, existing businesses and sharing of knowledge occurs. The North is yet to be fully penetrated by private investments and remains 'virgin territory', with many of the resources in the area yet to be fully utilised, the statement said.

The exhibition last year drew record number of visitors with each exhibitor achieving well beyond their expected targets. The