Reaffirming its commitment to empowering the country’s future business leaders, Unilever Sri Lanka, the No. 1 employer in the nation[1], welcomed 21 undergraduate students from some of the country’s top higher education institutions to the 4th batch of its annual ‘SPARKS’ student ambassador program.
Inviting university students from around the island to apply to the program, Sumeet Verma, Director – Human Resources and Corporate Relations at Unilever Sri Lanka said, “Currently in its 4th year, the Unilever SPARKS program is yet another manifestation of our commitment to developing Sri Lanka’s future business leaders. In line with our core philosophy of doing well by doing good, we look forward to engaging top young minds from some of the country’s premier educational institutions and playing a role in shaping them into future leaders.”
Offering invaluable real world exposure, it allows the student ambassadors to build relationships with seasoned industry professionals and like-minded students, thereby allowing them to expand their professional network even before they enter the workforce. The experience and guidance they gain through the program helps develop their negotiation, stakeholder management and team working skills. Thus the SPARKS program gives a significant boost to the employability of the undergraduate students while giving them the opportunity to be fast tracked into a career at Unilever.
Commenting of his SPARKS experience, Hashan Rahubaddha from the University of Moratuwa “Being directly exposed to the working culture at Unilever through SPARKS program helped me to enhance my skills and competencies while expanding my network.” Expressing similar sentiments, SPARKS Student Ambassador Yasasi Bandaranayake from the University of Kelaniya noted, “Being a student Ambassador for Unilever was one of the greatest milestones I have achieved in my University Life. It was a distinctive and incomparable journey which redefined me.”
[1] As per a Nielson survey conducted in 2016