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| Saturday, 24 January 2004 |
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Several jobs under one roof through EDEX 2004 by Nadira Gunatilleke, Ramani Kangaraarachchi and Irangika Range 'EDEX 2004', careers and higher education fair organised by the Royal College Union together with Lanka Exhibition and Conference Service Pvt Ltd with the support of Tertiary Education and Training Ministry and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau concluded recently. Several stalls offered various types of education programs during the exhibition. The higher education fair mainly catered to the wealthy local students who fail to enter local State Universities. The fair gave them an opportunity to continue their studies and obtain educational qualifications from foreign universities and other foreign educational institutions while staying in Sri Lanka with their families. This fair also catered to the ordinary students who seek employment opportunities, vocational training and other training courses which help to improve their capacity. The Open University of Sri Lanka, University of Colombo School of Computing, the Department of Technical Education and Training, National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority, Institute of Bankers in Sri Lanka and several other well-know state education institutes were among the local participants in EDEX 2004. Asian Aviation Centre, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, HSBC, Hatton National Bank, Wijaya Graphics Private Limited, M.D.Gunasena and Company Limited, CINEC Maritime Campus, and several other local private sector organisations were among the local participants. Les Roches School of Hotel Management, Monash University, Malaysia, Switzerland, Dayanand Sagar Institutions, India, Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology, Malaysia, Sunway College, Malaysia and several other foreign education institutes were among the foreign participants. Local and foreign participants said that they got a valuable opportunity to raise awareness among the students and parents about their educational courses and what they have to offer for them. There are different types of students who have different types of requirements. They seek various educational and vocational training programs. This is a good opportunity for both students and employers. Some representatives from private banks said that applicants can fill application forms and hand them over during the fair and they will consider those applications when recruiting new employees through normal procedure. A group of job hunters and students said that they had received a rare chance to apply for several jobs under one roof. There are a lot of training courses that we can follow while doing our jobs. But we cannot afford to follow any of educational programs offered by foreign and private educational institutes, they added. The success of EDEX 2004 higher education fair has convinced us to make it an annual event in future. Lilantha Jayarathna ,Project Manager Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (pte) Ltd (LECS) said. It was an awareness for both parents and students not only on education but also about other facilities such as loans, job opportunities too. There had been nearly ten thousand visitors to see the exhibition over the week end. "Our objective was to show different types of opportunities available for our students and educate their parents and teachers on them so that they can guide them towards the right career path. Jayaratne said. The 57 stalls covered a very wide area of local and foreign higher study schemes. We can guarantee about their records to a very high extent because LECS was careful to select the institutions who have track records to avoid unqualified stall holders coming in as participants. Most of the foreign principles were here for the exhibition he said. Academy of Design was an uncommon stall among others which specialises in Higher Education in Fashion Design and Interior Design. It is approved by Edexcel International to offer BTEC HND and First Diplomas in Design,from the UK recognised by universities and employers worldwide. The Academy guaranteed an internationally trained faculty of experienced professionals, an active job placement service and strong bonds with industry. The Principal of the Academy Annette Wendling said that the Sri Lankan market in Fashion design is growing and the students are trained to be in the industry. The academy's main objective is to instill conceptual thinking supported by the necessary technical knowledge to enable students to generate meaningful designs and this is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka which fills a great void in the country. The students have good chances both locally and abroad because they become extremely good within a period of four to six years hard work. Projects completed by senior students and their views were displayed at the stall. The premier Professional Organisation representing the Human Resource Professionals, Institute of Personnel Management (IPM) conduct Diploma in Personnel Management, Certificate and Foundation Courses. It has also signed an MOU with Southern Queensland University in Australia for MBA programs commencing from July this year, G.Weeratunga Chairman Human Resource Development Committee IPM said. IPM is the current President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and has built strong relationships with international counterparts in order to expand its avenues to suit the global standards. Asian Aviation Centre,the Premier Aeronautical Engineering and Flying Academy in Sri Lanka provides Academic, Technical and Vocational Training in the fields of Aeronautical Engineering, Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, Flying and Computing. It has three distinct academies under its wings and it is affiliated to Kingston University of UK and Regency Institute of TAFE of South Australia. The exhibition was organised by Royal College Union together with LEACS. The LEACS is due to hold this educational fair in Maldives in April in a different name the project manager Jayaratna said. NIIT Marketing Manager Sheyenne Algama said the exhibition was very successful. "Different kind of institutes providing educational carries and information to a large number of people specially school students after O/L and A/L. Some seek information and this can be a good opportunity for them to recognise and develop suitable areas in the modern world. There were also a lot of institutes affiliated with foreign universities facilitated who wish to do higher studies abroad, he added. He also said school leavers have shown a tendency to learn properly with the computer. They follow the basic computer courses and later go ahead with higher studies. Institute of British Computer Technology Chairman Milhan said this was very useful to select the suitable course, university and also the country for those wishing to do foreign studies. Fuard, Basheer, Saheel and Tharindu, students of D.S.Senanayake College, Colombo said every stall offered different kinds of education courses. "We got much knowledge about normal, diploma and degree courses from both local and foreign institutes and this was very useful to prepare for the future plans," he said. Rashitha from Ananda College and Niroshan and Viraj from Royal College said most students don't know what to do after A/L. "This type of exhibitions gives us the guidance and support to choose the correct course according to the modern society," they said. Kanti Waidyawansa, a teacher attached to Gothami Balika Vidyalaya said students can inquire and solve their higher studies problems. A parent, Deepthi Augustin said her son plans to do higher studies in a foreign university. She said the exhibition showed them the courses available all over the globe. |
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