‘Parttime Jobs’ focuses on keeping job-seekers continuously occupied-The Island

By Steve A. Morrell

A Sri Lankan entrepreneur has initiated a part time job culture, where both young and the not-so-young could be effectively occupied earning money until they could be gainfully occupied in line with their qualifications.

Chamara Ratnayake Director/CEO JC Ventures (Pvt) Ltd., says there are graduates delivering Pizzas, similarly others working on the internet, quite often from home employed and earning wages, perhaps to be continuously occupied and contributors to the economy.

Ratnayake holds an engineering degree from the Moratuwa University in addition to an MBA.

"We started this company ‘Parttime Jobs’, in April 2014 with Japanese collaboration and the Sri Lanka Foundation. Part time jobs in Sri Lanka are not part of our job culture. In other countries, for example South Korea, Japan and Europe, part time jobs are popular", he said.

"As for my partnership with the Japanese, it was only a chance meeting and we got going from that point", he recalled.

Q: Do you have people applying to you yet?

We have about 5,000 on role currently. Of this number, about 300 are working part time, with us. We have found them such employment.

Q: What really got you going on this concept, ‘Parttime jobs’.

That’s interesting. Take university education. You take about four years to complete a degree. About 100,000 students take that long to graduate. They do not contribute to the economy during this time. Say age, 19 to 24. They depend on their parents for everything. In other countries, they do part time work and pay for their education. Here education is free.

I graduated from Moratuwa. About 400 to 500 engineering graduates pass out each year. They depend on others to get themselves effectively employed; whereas they have the skills to do things themselves. That is lacking. Our concept is to promote part time jobs to change that culture. Not easy.

Q: What is the reaction if projected to rural areas?

We have quite a few from outstation areas. In Sri Lanka, the unemployment rate is low compared with other countries. About 3% to 4%. Take the hotels, high rises, these are coming up. They all need manpower. We do not have that manpower. This would result in people having to do two or three jobs. Otherwise, we have to import people from India, China, where ever.

Q: Take real rural areas. They get a degree, but find they are not employable. What about them?

After about five years they apply, but find they are not capable enough to do the job. We have this problem in the computer department.

We hire, analyze potential employed part time, assess how they fit in and then they could get permanent employment.

It’s a big challenge, but this is what the trend is. And it is growing. Not only young people, but pensioners also who can work from home. We have people who write and so on. We are on the web, and contactable on email.

*parttimejobs.lk is an organization collaborated with SLF in providing Parttime Job Culture in Sri Lanka