Sysco LABS sustains partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation to empower future generations

Sysco LABS Sri Lanka, the innovation arm of Sysco, the global foodservice leader is continuing its nearly half-decade partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation (ELF), an internationally recognized education non-profit committed to unlocking opportunities for the young generation to become globally conscious change-makers.

Founded in 2007, ELF aims to empower socio-economically disadvantaged children and youth in Sri Lanka by enhancing their access to quality and equitable learning opportunities. ELF’s unique intervention models are based on offering online peer-to-peer long-term micro-scholarships, targeted mentoring and honing foundational youth skills to be employable in the workforce of the future.

This year, Sysco LABS collaborated with ELF’s Youth Change Agents Program – supported by the U.S Embassy in Colombo, which sought to motivate a group of 30 aspiring youth/student leaders representing diverse communities from Sri Lanka’s five main districts. The program aims to unleash their leadership qualities through a unique virtual platform, that connects them with professional skills trainers, corporate trainers/partners, and global peers along with equipping them with learning resources. Thus, empowering them to design and implement sustainable solutions to address issues in their local communities.

As a proud advocate for empowering the next generation, Sysco LABS conducted a virtual mentoring session titled, ‘Swimming in Uncharted Waters: Calculating and Managing Uncertainty’, providing knowledge on risk management processes including its sources, assumptions, and external factors.

The session covered the complexity of risks in terms of understanding how to observe and calculate the ‘unseen’ and the ‘unexpected’ in any project or personal effort. Participants were taught the basics of ‘Projections,’ ‘Assumptions,’ and ‘Risks’ to maximize success, sustainability, and impact. The session also covered the basics of software quality assurance and the importance of software testing, coding and skills necessary for such a career.

Sean Lee, Project Manager and a volunteer representing Sysco LABS Sri Lanka said, “We need to first inspire students to embrace a limitless future and to see their learning as purposeful to what they can achieve. Sysco LABS, through our partnership with Educate Lanka Foundation, are helping these youth by sharing information and resources, developing the foundational skills necessary to succeed in a modern workforce.”