Have you ever dreamed of visiting a tropical place so far away you cannot imagine it? Perhaps it is a country of endless beaches, swaying elephants and ancient temples, tempting you with aromatic curries served in edible rice bowls or banana leaf wrapped lamprais wafting with vegetables, rice and meatballs.
Now visualize yourself there volunteering and providing technical and vocational education and training to increase the employability of young people throughout that country. This very opportunity awaits you in the beautiful island country of Sri Lanka.
What’s the situation like in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka’s modern supermarket-hypermarket segment is among the fastest-growing sectors. The dominant players in the local sector include Cargill’s Food City and several others. Cargill’s chains command a 50% market share in terms of turnover, with over 220 outlets spread across the country.
Lanka Sathosa Ltd is the state-owned large-scale retail network business in Sri Lanka with over 370 outlets island-wide and over 5000 employees. They want to increase the number of outlets to 500 by mid-2018. These outlets were established under the brand name Lanka Sathosa with the aim of providing food security to the mass consumer. Lanka Sathosa targets consumers with lower and lower-middle-income households.
The opportunity awaits you!
I have packed up my bags and volunteered with International Executive Service Corps (IESC) several times in my career. Their newest volunteer opportunity is the Youth Employment and Business Startup Activity (YouLead) program in Sri Lanka.
It’s basically a workforce development project that aims to increase youth employability in Sri Lanka through improved technical and vocational training. The mission is to create a more skilled and flexible workforce by undertaking activities that support and strengthen students, teachers, institutions, and young entrepreneurs.
If you are qualified and take this assignment, you will work closely with potential young entrepreneurs to improve their business skills and the quality of their business plans, as well as with financial institutions to enhance their ability to lend to youth-led start-ups.
Don’t worry about the cost. IESC covers your round-trip airfare, travel, lodging, meals and incidental expenses. Your safety and personal pleasure are always paramount.
What qualifications are needed to apply?
- Experience in carrying out Training Needs Analysis.
- Five to ten years’ experience in curriculum development and conducting training programs especially Training of Trainers.
- Experience working in developing countries is preferred.
- The ability to work effectively in cross-cultural contexts.
- Training skills, including participatory training in group settings.
- Be self-motivated, proactive, detail-oriented, mature, a professional team player, a strong communicator with good interpersonal skills.
Eat, Travel, Teach
If you have that itch to see the world and have the required experience, you should check out the position description and deliverables and apply. You can see that all here.
There is nothing more rewarding than giving that part of you that is rich in experience. Watching young people learn, develop and thrive because you have touched them with your expertise fulfills something deep within . Volunteering enriches the spirit and brings a humbled sense of our shared humanity.
Secondarily, your worldview expands when you visit a new culture, sample its food and wander its landscape. You will come to love the people, and the experience will change your very being.
If this opportunity is calling you with all its exotic allure, don’t hesitate to Contact IESC.
I promise you will not regret it.
