British Council launches Career and Skills Summit

3 September 2015 03:06 am Views - 934

By Chandeepa Wettasinghe
The British Council launched the ‘Opportunities’ Career and Skills Summit aimed at bridging the gap between prospective employers and skilled British degree and qualification holders.

“The British Council has taken this initiative having identified a niche through its dialogues in providing education in South Asia. It’s about identifying a niche in soft skills and human capital development,” British High Commissioner James Dauris said.

He noted that with President Maithripala Sirisena’s comments in Parliament this week about developing human capital, particularly among the youth, the national and event agendas align comfortably.

“We’re talking about a co-incidence of needs the President was describing yesterday. He was talking about Sri Lankan employers’ needs. You need to have good graduates who are not only educated, but also have the soft skill... and also the employees’ needs in this competitive job market,” he added.

Employers will be able to screen CVs prior to meeting with potential candidates, while the candidates will be able to view the details of the employers they are interested in.

British Council Country Director Keith Davis said that 75 corporates in 7 sectors will take part, and over 2,500 students who have studied in the UK or have locally acquired British qualifications which emphasize on soft skills are expected to attend the summit.

“The event will introduce 21st century skills through a series of industry-led workshops and will provide a forum for Sri Lanka’s business and the next generation of junior, middle and ultimately senior managers to meet and explore employment and internship possibilities,” he added.

‘Opportunities’ will be held on March 5-6 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre.