The opening ceremony was initiated with the singing of the National Anthem by esteemed panelists and resource persons for the day, University officials and Students.

Our compere for the workshop welcomed the large audience and declared the opening of the workshop…

    

The hall was packed with over 600 students listening attentively as the workshop begins..

Welcome Address by Career Guidance Counsellor, Deepal Wijeyasekera.

Address by Professor Chandana P. Udawatte, Vice Chancellor, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.

    

Welcome Address by Carmeline Jayasuriya, Head of Operations, John Keells Foundation.

Devanshi Fernando, Project Coordinator, John Keells Foundation, introduced the esteemed panel.

    

Day 1( Morning Session)

Panel Discussion on ‘Employer Expectations’

  

Morning Panelists (L-R): Dr. Harsha Alles, Chairman, Gateway Group, Ms. Sandya Salgado, Senior External Affairs Officer, World Bank, Rohan Amirthiah (Chair/Moderator), Managing Director, Wurth Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Sharmini Ratwatte, Director, MAS Investments (Pvt) Ltd , Ms. Subanie Ekanayake, Head of HR Processes and Systems, John Keells Group.

Our chair/moderator set the tone and facilitated panel discussion..

Each Panelist gave valuable advice from their own experiences in the private sector.

    

Rohan Amirthiah (Chair/moderator)
Managing Director, Wurth Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

Ms. Subanie Ekanayake,
Head of HR Processes and Systems, John Keells Group.

Our female panelists were able to share their personal experiences of being a female leader.

    

Ms. Sharmini Ratwatte, Director MAS Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

Ms. Sandya Salgado, Senior External Affairs Officer

Dr Harsha Alles, Director, Gateway Group had interesting and relatable advice for the students as he incorporated examples from the student’s favourite sports teams.

The students at Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka were eager to learn and asked many questions.

    

Day 1 (Evening Session)

An Interactive Workshop on “Personal Grooming” and “Corporate Hospitality” was conducted by Ms. Nayana Karunaratne, Image Consultants.

Ms. Nayana Karunaratne was very energetic and captivated the students attention.

     

Many of the students were eager to volunteer as Ms. Nayana demonstrated important tips on exhibiting a professional image.

The students were taught the importance of a proper handshake and the importance of good posture.

    

Day 2 (Morning Session)

An Interactive workshop on “Personality Development and Confidence Building was conducted by Ms. Manique Mendis, Rainbow Resources Lanka Pvt. Ltd

 She was very active and engaged the students in discussions

The students were very enthusiastic and enjoyed the activities organized during the workshop very much.

    

Students were also given the opportunity to give a speech and gain advice on their public speaking…

    

Day 2 (Evening Session)

An Awareness session on HIV & AIDS conducted by Hiran Nugawela (John Keells Group- HIV Master Trainer and Executive Learning and Development)

     

Day 3 (Morning Session)

An Awareness session on Gender-Based Violence was conducted by Udeni Thewarapperum

     

Day 3 (Afternoon Session)

Mock Interviews and CV writing conducted by Ms. Manique Mendis, Rainbow Resources Lanka Pvt. Ltd

Ice-breaking activities were conducted at the beginning of the session to renew the student’s energy ….

 

Several students took the opportunity to participate in a mock interview…

    

At the end of the mock interviews, Ms. Subanie Ekanayake provided some valuable feedback specific to each interviewee As the workshop drew.

As the workshop drew to a close…

A representative for the entire student body came up onstage to express her sincere gratitude on behalf of all the students as the lessons they learnt would be extremely useful for their future…

Dr. Yapa, Director of Career Guidance Unit (CGU), Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, also expressed his gratitude towards John Keells for organizing this event and to the student’s for their active participation and hoped they would use the valuable knowledge they learnt…

   

Dr. Yapa, Director of Career Guidance Unit (CGU), Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, also expressed his gratitude towards John Keells for organizing this event and to the student’s for their active participation and hoped they would use the valuable knowledge they learnt…

 

John Keells Foundation (JKF- Organizing Committee)

(L-R): Tashya De Silva (JKF), Devanshi Fernando (JKF|), Hiran Nugawela (Group HR), Subanie Ekanayake (Group HR), Udeshi Gurusinghe (Group HR).