British Council officially launches ‘Opportunities’ – Career and Skills Summit

The British Council recently launched ‘Opportunities’ – Career and Skills Summit over a breakfast meeting held at the Westminster House. The main aim of this event is to bridge the gap between prospective employers and skilled UK graduates. 

The summit will encompass employers from several industries with prospective job offers for skilled UK graduates and youth with UK qualifications. Employers will be able to screen CV’s prior to meeting with potential candidates and the prospective candidates will be able to view the details of the employers they are interested in.

Skills development has taken centre stage as many countries in South Asia attempt to up skill its massive populations as well as empower its marginal communities and citizens to enter the mainstream workforce and spur social mobility. Therefore another key aspect of this event will be developing skills for employability. The summit will be used as a platform to identify and improve skills for employability by partnering with the industry sector and the professional bodies in both Sri Lanka and the UK.  

Workshops will be conducted prior to and at the event by leading industry experts and representatives from UK universities for participants to understand that their communication skills, time management skills, their ability to get along with others and attitude is now as important as their technical capabilities. Participants will also be enlightened on how to reflect on their interests, qualifications and ambitions. 

Keith Davies, Country Director British Council, said, “One of the aims of the British Council is to create opportunities for Sri Lanka’s young people to advance their careers and improve their lives. One way to do this is through further and higher education, leading to a UK qualification which carries the hallmark of quality recognised by employers the world over. In this exciting new initiative, we will bring together Sri Lanka’s top employers and the latest batch of young people graduating with a UK qualification. The event will introduce 21 century skills through a series of industry-led workshops and will provide a forum for Sri Lanka’s businesses and the next generation of junior, middle and ultimately senior managers to meet and to explore employment and internship possibilities.”

Niroshi Siriwansa, Manager International Higher Education, British Council said, ‘Opportunities’ is a great way to connect with the UK alumni network in Sri Lanka. No matter where you have obtained your UK qualification, whether it’s Sri Lanka or the UK, this initiative will provide you access to the corporate sector. Every aspect of this event is an opportunity for a UK graduate – job recruitments, soft skills development workshops, one-to-one encounters with sector leaders, work placements and internships. There is scope in this platform for young entrepreneurs to pitch and display their unique ideas to the sector as well.” 

‘Opportunities’ will be a two day event held on 5 and 6 March 2016 at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre. For more details please visit the website www.britishcouncil.lk.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara