British Council's 'Career Summit 2015'

On November 21, a 'Career Summit' was organised by the British Council. The event initiated at 10 am and went on till 5 pm at British Council on Fuller Road, Dhaka. A window of opportunity was opened by the Summit for returned graduates from UK to discover career prospects in Bangladesh. Representatives from leading corporate houses were present at the event.

Many former students of esteemed higher education institutions in UK return to Bangladesh with hopes of having a flourishing career. The 'Career Summit' supported such graduates towards further professional development, and provided the employers with a platform to hire deserving UK graduates.

More than 500 graduates with UK qualification registered for the Summit. There was no registration fee for them. The graduates had to register by filling up forms, which required few personal details along with a lot of educational details, highlighting their studies in the UK.

"We are only focusing on UK graduates and UK qualification holders, including Bangladeshi residents who took UK degrees staying in Bangladesh," explained Shegufta Ahmed, Project Coordinator, British Council. 

The graduates, some fresh out of university and some already holding jobs but looking for better opportunities, were connected to 15 eminent organisations, namely Unilever Bangladesh, Robi Axiata, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Bank, British Council, BRAC Bank, Bashundhara Group etc. The organisations set up their booths where the graduates dropped their CVs and learnt about the job openings. Some of the employers also took interviews of the graduates.

In detail, the applicants were rated by the potential employers based on their existing experiences, i.e. field of study, salary expectation, previous experience, extracurricular activities, IT skills, English proficiency and references from their educational institutions. They were even given the privilege to choose their preferred sector for working.

Aslam Taysir, who majored in Corporate Finance from University of Gloucestershire, was a participant at the summit. He believed, "Job opportunities at MNCs and banks, especially, are extremely competitive right now and since there isn't really a separate platform for fresh UK graduates, this Summit will open many doors connecting enthusiastic graduates, like myself, with major organisations."

While the interviews were being conducted, the Career Summit also hosted plenary sessions, different parallel sessions and workshops conducted by HR specialists, UK delegate, alumni and HR of British Council. The summit also advised graduates using parallel sessions and gave them tips on how to be presentable at professional environment, making smart career choices, and preparing better CVs etc.

This event was the first of its kind and the organisers were very pleased with the feedback and cooperation from employers, especially from MNCs. "In the future we plan to have bigger venues and wider reach, hopefully even conduct this sort of summit outside Dhaka," said M. Jahir Uddin, Project Manager, British Council Bangladesh.

Azman Anju Khan Chowdhury is the founder of Durnibar Foundation, a youth-based non-profit organisation. He loves to spread smiles across the faces of those who are ignored by society. Follow his explorations on Facebook 
at www.facebook.com/Azman.Anju.Khan.
Chowdhury