About UPP

Unlimited Potential Partnership (UPP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative committed to workforce development in 4 specific industries: Agriculture, Apparel, Media & Journalism, and Tourism.

By offering training in both industry specific ICT and career success skills provided by the Accelerated Skills Acquisition Program (ASAP), UPP aims to enhance the employment prospects of individuals from all over Sri Lanka.

This two year initiative is a joint collaboration between USAID, Microsoft, and Infoshare.

UPP will create important linkages between public and private sector industry members and industry training institutes. This unique public-private alliance will not only create awareness and promote the use of ICTs, but also make a significant impact on increasing the opportunities available to youth and young adults throughout Sri Lanka.

This course is applicable and will prove beneficial to two distinct groups:

• Those pursuing employment in : Agriculture, Apparel, Media & Journalism, and Tourism
• Incumbent industry employees aiming to consolidate and advance their positions through the acquisition of critical ICT skills in order to stay abreast of the changing workplace needs.

Objectives of UPP

1. Make a sustained commitment to build workforce capacity in the four targeted industries through:
   
   • Deploying industry specific IT curricula in centers island-wide
   • Providing extensive training for trainers from designated training institutes
   • Seeking public and private sector endorsement for course acceptance
2. Promote public awareness of the role of applied ICT skills for personal and professional development.
   
   • A rigorous communication campaign will be launched to create awareness through the project website, newspaper advertisements, brochures, posters and island-wide awareness raising seminars.
3. Mobilize private sector involvement in the development of the workforce.
   
   • An online job placement system will be developed to foster a dynamic job market place that can connect employers with rural job seekers in the targeted industries.
   • UPP will seek commitments from industry partners to:
     
     • Identify suitable training sites
     • Contribute towards scholarship funds for disadvantaged students
     • Explore ways in which to promote early contact between employers and trainees
     • Offer employment or internships to those who meet their skills training specifications
4. Ensure assistance reaches communities impacted by conflict, such as the North and East by:
   • Providing 2,000 training scholarships to out-of-school rural youth
   • Placing special emphasis on the assistance of youth from the conflict and border areas in the North East and North Central provinces
5. Develop a global “best practice” which can be replicated in other countries facing similar workforce challenges.
   • This program will be documented and made available on the project website.

UPP Partners

Strategic Partners

• Accelerated Skills Acquisition Program – to offer soft skills to students
• American Chamber of Commerce – to improve acceptability of the course
• Ceylon Chamber of Commerce – to improve acceptability of the course
• European Chamber of Commerce – to improve acceptability of the course

Training Partners

• Brandix College of Clothing Technology
• Clothing Industry Training Institute
• IDM Computer Studies
• MAS Institute of Management of Technology
• MMBL CyberSkills
• Samadhi Community Development Foundation
• Science Park Asia
• Sri Lanka College of Journalism
• Vocational Training Authority (VTA)