Abstract:
The eight agricultural faculties in eight Universities in Sri Lanka compete to produce
agricultural graduates whose training meets employers expectations that change wit(i
time. Tailoring curricula to meet these expectations could improve trainees credibility
because employers especially in the private sector hire graduates whose qualifications,
training and experience they consider to be satisfactory. This survey of 30 randomly
selected Sri Lankan employers in the private sector found that they seek agricultural
professionals who possess the following qualities, listed in the descending order of
importance: (1) Knowledge and skills of the job (2) Job commitment (3) Good working
knowtedge in the English Language (4) Knowledge in Information Technology (IT) (5)
Ability to meet deadlines for assigned tasks (6) Punctuality (7) Maturity to handle
responsibilities (8) Ability to use available resources effectively (9) Ability to work well
with minimum supervision (10) Honesty (11) General intelligence (12) Ability and
willingness to work hard.
