EDEX Expo 2013 Kandy draws huge anticipation

M F Jabir in Kandy

The Kandy leg of the EDEX-Expo - 2013, organised by the Colombo Royal College Union (RCU) concluded on Saturday with large crowd participation. It was held for the eight successive year in Kandy.

Kamal Abeysinghe, Chairman, EDEX-2013 told Daily News Business that over 350 foreign and local exhibitors representing over 20 countries and over 250 universities had participated in the EDEX exhibition 2013. He said one of the unique features of this year's EDEX-Expo was the edexcareers.com web portal which offered career guidance services to students and school leavers who were getting ready to take the next step either in academic path or vocational training.

"We conduct a psychometric test which helps the person to identify his dominant trade and decide on a career path were he can achieve success and where he can put his own aptitudes, abilities and skills to best use and progress in that career. For example if you are a person with a service orientation with strong human relation skills you can look at focusing on a service oriented career.

That's the kind of purpose the psychometric test would serve. He said this test was given fee in the EDEX stall.

He said EDEX was a rendezvous for those seeking academic, technical or vocational oriented training courses or even a professional training course under one platform and there were ancillary service providers as well like the Srilankan Airlines stall offering discounted air fare and extra baggage allowance for students going overseas for studies. "All that would help a student. We want to make it a one stop service," he said.

Abeysinghe said that the EDEX Secretariat has now gone beyond conducting exhibitions and provided a 365 day service. Conducting career guidance programmes, training career counselors appointed by schools and university career guidance units, publishing the pioneer career guidance magazine and distributing its tri-lingual quarterly EDEX Magazine free to all secondary schools and 500 regional libraries all over the country were some of the other functions of the Secretariat.

He said EDEX had helped thousands of upcountry folk to get enrolled in a variety of local and foreign career guidance programmes and the EDEX web portal w.w.w.edex.lk offered numerous resources to them as a 'one stop' virtual education and careers platform.

EDEX has also launched the 'Live your Dream' programme to reach out and offer tangible help to some identified remote schools in the country. Under this programme needy schools including those in the North have been provided with new libraries, IT lab facilities, new roofs, sports equipment and medicines.

Dilan Rajapakse, Director EDEX Careers made a presentation about the functioning of the edexcareers.com web portal and highlighted the convenience both career seekers and career providers could obtain from it.

Prabhash Hettiarachchi, President,Old Royalists'HR Professionals' Association (ORHRPA) said they work closely with EDEX as both associations share the same objectives. He said they have top HR professionals in their association and intend to help the society at large by conducting seminars.

The print media sponsor for the event was The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited.