Schools need better career guidance services and activity

The National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka (NHRDC) together with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), CareerMe, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), and the International Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ICC), organised a discussion forum last week titled ‘Emerging Careers for the Future’. 

The panel in general noted that young people, particularly those from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle to find stable employment because they lack guidance and information on the demands of the labour market. They include they noted those who are attempting to move from farm to off-farm employment in order to earn more and diversify their sources of income. One way to improve labour market outcomes for young people according to CareerMe Founder/CEO Anjana Kulasekara, is to provide them with career guidance and employment services. However it was noted by the panellists that both the state universities and the school system needs to urgently upgrade their in-house capability to do this effectively. 

There was general agreement amongst the panellists that career guidance, counselling, and information will certainly help to achieve:

•  lifelong learning;
•  improved labour market outcomes, including reducing mismatches between labour supply and demand
• nGreater opportunities for all young people and also social inclusion.

A free career guidance mobile app a first of its kind in Sri Lanka was also launched at the event. The career guidance mobile app is to make it easier for students across the country to get career guidance at the touch of a fingertip. The App is available on Google Play Store or access www.careerme.lk. The App hosts free, interactive online career tools that help identify the best career and education paths with personalised career guidance.

The panel included – Prof. Mohan de Silva, Chairman UGC, Nimal Ranasinghe, Secretary Education, Dr. Nihal De Silva, Dean/Chairman of International Institute of Health Sciences, Jagath Perera, President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Reyaz Mihular, Managing Partner, KPMG, Bingumal Thewathanthri, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank, Louise Cowcher, Director (Education and English), The British Council, Peeyush Arya, Partner, Deloitte, Charles Conconi, Project Director, YOULEAD, Anjana Kulasekara, Founder/CEO CareerMe. Dinesh Weerakkody, Chairman, National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka and the International Chamber of Commerce moderated the panel discussion.