The Chinese Enterprise Job Fair was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, from October 2 to 4. As part of the Build SL 2020 - Housing and Construction Expo, the job fair attracted many job seekers. It was organised by the Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI), and is the first cooperation between CCI and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (CCCSL).
The Chinese Enterprise Job Fair stood in a prominent position at the main entrance of the exhibition hall. There was an endless stream of Sri Lankan job seekers visiting for consultation or registration. However, in keeping with the Covid-19 health guidelines the visitors, wearing face masks strictly observed the one-metre distance rule.
The job fair booth minimized the need for staff, the organizer having published relevant details on social media in advance.
Prevention requirements
The applicants only needed to go to the booth to fill in the form and submit the resume as required. The two main staff at the booth were responsible for on-site guidance, collecting forms and answering questions. Due to the Covid-19 prevention requirements, there was only one chair in front of each table. Everything went on smoothly and most people followed the guidelines on maintaining physical distance and waited patiently.
Ashcharya, (24) was a female graduate student majoring in Civil Engineering at the Technical College, Maradana. She had a Bachelor’s degree in geographic information system remote sensing from the University of Moratuwa. In an internship project in Bambalapitiya, Colombo, Ashcharya had worked with a Chinese team. She liked the atmosphere of the Chinese enterprise, so she had come to take a peek.
She said: “I would like an opportunity to work in a Chinese company. There are several Corporation projects, which could help in my major.” She was busy preparing for the oncoming exam, but when she read the information on the job fair, she took time to visit, she said.
Fonseka, a senior tender document engineer, asked details about the relevant position at the job fair booth, and filled in the application form using his own pen. He believed that Chinese companies would have great potential in the future.
Local job seekers
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, Chen Chuan said: “The Chinese Enterprise Job Fair attempts to build a bridge between Chinese employers and local job seekers.
The main criteria for the jobs advertised was efficiency. I believe there is great talent in Sri Lanka, and we welcome them to join Chinese enterprises”.
According to statistics, the construction industry accounts for roughly 8% of Sri Lanka’s GDP, and even as high as 15% when the demand is more.
About 650,000 Sri Lankans are directly employed in the construction industry while those indirectly dependent is about 325,000.