Overcoming fear and gaining confidence – a path to survival

I interviewed a girl who came with her father, and insisted on being inside the room, while I was talking to her to ascertain her skills. She was a graduate of Arts with an external degree from Kelaniya University that she received in 2009 and has since not held any job!

I told her I will give a month’s rigorous training in office procedures and Sinhala and English typing so that at the end of it she will have the confidence to get any office job she chooses by giving her the confidence to turn up at an interview and convince the interviewer that she was worthy of being hired. It was the confidence that was lacking in her.

I asked her to start the job there and then and she preferred to come in the morning. She called the next day that she would not come. Why would someone throw out a chance in a life time to become employable? That is the billion rupee challenge facing Sri Lankan youth today.

It is this attitude that prevents young people from getting employment. They want to be spoon-fed into a job. They cannot choose one on their own. They need to hold the hand of a father or mother and not take decisions on their own. They are frightened of a challenging position and been given tasks and responsibilities. What is with our youth today?

If only one knows the common misconception amongst young people. Experience is of utmost importance in getting a suitable job, and any offer of experience be it paid or unpaid should be pounced on by a person as a chance to rise up the employment ladder. That concept is missing amongst youth.

It is this challenge that many in rural schools face. Little wonder that Bandula Gunawardene said that of 10,000 schools everyone wants to get into just 49 schools. That is because it is just those schools that give the students the confidence to face any challenge! All other schools fail even in that, let alone the basic education sans private tuition, which should be the aim of any school in the island if it is to achieve the minimum goal as an educational institution worthy of that name.

We MUST change the mindset of youngsters and put them through unpaid internships as a matter of course to get them used to holding a job