A large number of IT-BPO institutions participate:

ICTA popularises IT-BPO

The enthusiasm shown at the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing Career fair conducted jointly by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the Education Ministry (MoE) and the IT- BPO Private Sector held at the Asgiriya Police Grounds in Kandy.

It was due to reconciling to anything that is not the best as one's profession.

The interest seemed to have emanated from the conviction that IT-BPO was a career that had all what the target group wanted rolled into one challenge, excitement, prestige, money, affordability, peer support, parent approval and so on.

The fourth in a series of eight regional IT - Business Process Outsourcing Career fairs planned to be held outside Colombo conducted registered a head count of a large number of visitors.

The visitors consisted mostly of students from schools in as well as their teachers and parents.

While a large number of institutions connected with IT-BPO careers participated in the fair the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) showcased in particular its Nenasala (Wisdom Outlet) or telecentre service which it carries out through the ICTA-initiated 587 Nenasalas operating islandwide.

Making the visitors aware of the services available at Nenasalas was quite pertinent as then especially the main target group of the IT-BPO career fairs will be better enabled to use the Nenasalas for their IT-BPO career pursuits.

"This led ICTA - through its ICBP program together with the Ministry of Education to run the first IT-BPO career fair, at the BMICH-Colombo in 2007 for school children.

This fair is organised to spread awareness about the IT-BPO industry also provided individual career counselling by the Ministry of Education counsellors along with IT-BPO industry personnel - was a significant success with over 2,500 school children attending.

As many schoolchildren from outside the Western Province were unable to attend this event, ICTA,the MoE and the IT- BPO Private Sector partnered again in 2009 to organise regional IT-BPO career fairs in eight districts - Anuradhapura, Badulla, Galle, Hambantota, Kandy, Kurunegala, Matara and Ratnapura".