IPM signs up as strategic partner with NYDB for ‘Rekiyabishekaya’

IPM Sri Lanka – the nation’s leader in human resources management – signed up as the strategic partner with National Youth Development Bureau (NYDB) for the ‘ITN Rekiyabishekaya 2016’ for the 2nd consecutive year recently. 

ITN Rekiyabishekaya is a job fair where various companies seek to interview candidates and hire suitable candidates to fill any vacancies in the organizations. NYDB is a social services organization initiated by a formal request of the Finance Minister in 2015 with the objective of eliminating poverty and unemployment whilst empowering the youth in the aspects of education, employment, health and well-being, sports, arts and culture by the year 2020. NYDB is organizing a series of events and programmes to achieve the said objectives.
“We are happy to support this important career guidance & employment fair as the strategic partner for the second consecutive year as one of our corporate social responsibility initiatives. In this day and age with multiple career options available, students and job seekers do need guidance and counseling to select their most suitable career, and we are glad that Rekiyabishekaya 2016 provides such a forum” said Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri-President, IPM Sri Lanka.
A Career Guidance & Mind Development programme organized under the auspices of the NYDB was the first phase in the ITN Rekiyabishekaya 2016 which was held on Saturday 5th November 2016 at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura with the participation of over 600 undergraduates. Delivering the welcome speech at the inauguration of the programme on behalf of IPM Sri Lanka, IPM Sri Lanka’s Vice President Chandrasiri Gannille welcomed the participants and explained the importance of the programme especially to undergraduates.
“Other than the professional or academic qualifications and experience, new candidates should develop employability skills for a job. In developed countries such as Singapore and Australia, prospective job seekers are taught these work place literacy skills such as thorough understanding of organization’s culture, business, ethics, values, vision and mission of the organization, decision making, adaptability to any given situation, problem solving skills, business communications and ICT etc. before they appear for interviews. Whereas these basics are not taught even in professional and degree programs” said Gannille. 
“We need to sharpen these elements in our Sri Lankan young talent. Whereas IPM Sri Lanka takes pleasure informing our stakeholders that IPM delivers these programmes to our students thereby enhancing their employability,” emphasized Gannille. 
Meditha Karunathilake, Faculty Member at IPM Sri Lanka conducted a practical grooming session for all the participants on the topic of ‘How to effectively face an interview’. Feedback from the participants on this session was excellent. A certificate and a branded IPM cap was awarded to each participant. 
The second phase of the “ITN Rekiyabishekaya 2016” programme was the Employment & Education Fair which was held at the Nelum Pokuna premises from 25th to 27th November. President Maithripala Sirisena was the chief guest. Over 100 organizations participated at this event representing government, semi-government and private institutions while over 300,000 hopeful youth visited the fair seeking possible job opportunities and placements. Chandrasiri Gannille – Vice President IPM Sri Lanka represented IPM at this event too who welcomed the participants at the inaugural session of the Employment and Career Fair and explained the importance of such events providing opportunities for the youth to secure gainful employment while developing their abilities. IPM awarded three scholarships to 3 students to follow IPM’s human resources management courses at the Fair which were handed over to the recipients by the President. 
IPM’s Young Members Forum (YMF) headed by its Chairman Col. Saman Jayawickrama and supported by over 20 young members actively participated in making the Rekiyabishekaya 2016 an outstanding success. The IPM YMF team set up 6 recruitment panels to recruit over 1000 youth officers to the NYDB. Furthermore, Col. Saman Jayawickrama who was appointed as the project manager to represent IPM and coordinate resources to make this corporate social responsibility event a success, several key features and events to the main inauguration such as role play of facing interviews successfully were introduced. Furthermore, a significant number of stalls were brought in by the YMF team. 

IPM Sri Lanka keeps pace with the new trends and concepts in HR by engaging continuously with the business community to share experiences, thoughts and insights in order to enrich and enhance the HR profession. It actively encourages and promotes members’ participation at international conferences and forums to provide exposure, build networks and conduct research into areas of interest to the HR profession in Sri Lanka. 

IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resources Management and also to the World Federation of People Management Association. IPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations [OPA] Sri Lanka. Currently IPM comprises of over 900 professional members who serve in both public and private organizations.