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TracyCelebrating World Youth Skills Day – Empowering the Nation through Skilled Youth
Tracy
Jul 13 2025
27
Youth skills are vital for a country's development, drive innovation, economic growth, and social progress. Equipping young people with the right skills enables them to participate fully in the economy and contribute to a more prosperous and equitable future.
According to World Bank estimates, the youth unemployment rate in Sri Lanka for 2024 was 22.32% representing the total labour force percentage aged 15-24 who are without work but actively seeking employment.
“Youth empowerment is a cross-cutting theme of the work of John Keells Foundation (JKF), the CSR entity of the John Keells Group”, said Carmeline Jayasuriya, Head of CSR of the John Keells Group. “Within our vision of `Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow’, JKF has been consistently involved in developing youth skills through a range of sustained initiatives that nurture essential life and career skills as well as mindsets, attitudes and values among our youth aimed at shaping a better future for both the beneficiaries and our nation as a whole.”
While World Youth Skills Day reminds us of the urgent need to invest in youth skills, we uphold this commitment through our various long-term projects. John Keells English Language Scholarship Programme (JKELSP) – in its 20th year – hosted an online Speech Competition on 26th June 2025 for Tier 2 students, at which 27 shortlisted scholars showcased their learnings. The two-tier programme empowers deserving pre-O’Level school children with English, IT, and soft skills, enabling equitable access to skills essential for academic and career success. In 2024/25, 892 scholarships were provided in 20 locations across both tiers, while the project has directly benefited over 21,500 students across the island.
As part of another long-term initiative on youth skills development, a Career Guidance Programme was organised on 19th June 2025, benefiting 74 O/L and A/L schoolchildren in Moratuwa. The session aimed to help students explore career paths, understand job market expectations, and make informed decisions about their future.
A series of substance abuse prevention awareness sessions were conducted on 1st and 3rd July 2025 in Colombo 2, in partnership with the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB). Nearly 200 students and over 60 parents and teachers from six schools participated. These sessions focused on resisting peer pressure, building resilience, and fostering effective communication between parents, teachers, and students on child protection. A training of trainers programme was conducted with NDDCB on 6th February 2025 for 46 teachers from the Piliyandala Education Zone, equipping them to identify early warning signs of substance abuse.
As JKF celebrates 20 years of ‘Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow’, it remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering equitable opportunities and supportive environments for young people.
Education, Community & Livelihoods, Social Health & Cohesion, and Biodiversity are the four (reclassified) focus areas of John Keells Foundation - the CSR entity of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), largest company listed on the CSE in terms of market capitalization operating over 70 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors. With a history of over 150 years, the John Keells Group provides employment to over 18,000 persons and has been ranked as Sri Lanka's 'Most Respected Entity' for the last 19 Years by LMD magazine. JKH has placed first for the fourth consecutive year in the 'Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment' by Transparency International Sri Lanka. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of “Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow” through John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Plasticcycle’, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.
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