ILO Good Job media release 2008

Planning corporate CSR strategies, recruitment strategies, development policy, or development training on youth and employment issues? “A Good Job?” is often the question asked by young Sri Lankans in their hunt for employment and livelihood. And equally often, young people do not find “good” jobs but, instead, must be content with whatever they find – if they find jobs at all.

With the problem of youth unemployment, a major issue afflicting this country for decades, with successive rural youth rebellions directly linked to this problem, the new video discussion programme recently produced on this subject is designed to help corporate strategists, development agencies, social service organizations and local community groups to engage with the problem with more awareness.

International Alert Sri Lanka has produced the “A Good Job” training DVD and instruction guide in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Youth Employment Network (YEN), with the technical producer Young Asia Television. The DVD package derives from the TV debate series conducted in all three languages and telecast earlier this year on Rupavahini, ETV and TNL channels, an International Alert media release said.   

With active studio audiences and discussion panels comprising young development activists and youth leaders, business people and industrialists who look to youth as the labour pool, and government planners and experts, the TV series opened up a lively debate on this hot topic. The whole range of issues and aspects of the problem were examined and debated, with key issues identified and even some lesser known related problems highlighted publicly during these debates.

The issues and the possible answers that have been highlighted are now captured in a well edited DVD product that acts as a discussion stimulant and guide for use in corporate strategizing, policy planning, public discussions as well as in development training programmes. The DVD package is designed as an audio-visual tool for awareness –building on youth employment issues and for training programmes and courses for development activists, corporate CSR strategizing, ‘change agents’, and for policy discussions and debates.  A high quality training software for all trainers produced by YA-TV, the country’s most experienced Development television producer, the DVD comes with a detailed instruction guide for users.

The DVD Pack is being launched in Colombo on Friday 15th August, at the Hotel Taj Samudra at 4.15 pm at a ceremony attended by private sector leaders, government economic affairs and youth affairs officials and development experts. The keynote address is by Ms. Tine Staermose, Country Director, International Labour Organisation.    

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For further information, below are provided excerpted quotes from the DVD:

“We have about 10,000 schools in the country but not even 10% of these schools can provide the kind of aptitude, skills, orientation and communication skills that we talk about. .. the quality of the education matters too”

Prof. S.T. Hettige, Snr. Prof. of Sociology – University of Colombo.



“..The rural youth feel that to get in to the private sector they need to come from a particular background which is very much linked to things like English language and Western culture.  Further, the jobs that are available in the private sector do not help youth achieve the kind of importance that a public sector job entails”.

Harini Amarasuriya – Lead Researcher – SPARC – University of Colombo



“Our vocational Training sector has to be regulated as we cannot allow mushroom institutes to crop up and provide all kinds training which distorts the whole system and expertise.”

Mr. Dakshitha Thalagodapitiya – CEO/Secretary General – Chamber of Construction Industry

For more information and to reserve your copy of the DVD, contact: sri.lanka.office@international-alert.org