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| Sunday, 31 July 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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IT related careers for underemployed graduates within reach Underemployed graduates with `soft skills' have the chance to become IT competent and secure IT related careers. In contrast, the president of an unemployed graduates association had said that he had not touched a computer. A pilot project to train 25 graduates with soft skills has been completed. It has been made possible by USAID and implemented by the IT Faculty of the University of Moratuwa. The intensive five-month training program combines theory and hands-on practice, including three months of course work, one month working on a comprehensive project and at least a month with an IT company. Thousands of bright, well-educated graduates in Sri Lanka do not have the skills relevant to today's job market, USAID mission director, Dr Carol Backer said. Dr Backer expects graduates who participate in this conversion program to have substantially improved their prospects for employment in the IT sector following five months of training. Dr. Ajith Madurapperuma, Dean of the IT Faculty of the University of Moratuwa described the program as innovative. It affords graduates to enter well-paying profession jobs, Dr. Madurapperuma said. The first batch of 25 students came from as far as Addalaichenai, Kalmunai and Telwatte. Tsunami victim, Mrs. V.I.P. Fernando said that she had lost everything to the tsunami. She travelled for six hours per day to attend the IT classes in Colombo. The private sector has shown a keen interest in this program by helping design the program curriculum. Representatives of several prominent IT firms were among the interview panels for the students' selection, while business mentors will orient students to career opportunities. Several IT firms, including Zone 24x7, Virtusa, Millennium IT, IFS hSendid Software, The Computer Centre, e-Comtec, Eurocentre and parcel House, have offered partial sponsorship to 12 students. Additional contributors to the Rapid Information Technology Conversion program include the Software Exporters' Association and the Association for the Software Industry. USAID's Competitiveness Program has been assisting the Information and Communications Technology sector since 1999. A 2004 survey of 500 private and public sector firms by the Sri Lanka ICT Association in cooperation with the Competitiveness Program indicated a strong demand for more IT workers in Sri Lanka. EL |
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