Venturing into the IT industry as a Software Engineer, Prasad Waduge commenced his career as an Analyst Programmer promptly after concluding his higher education. Having set sail on this particular career voyage out of sheer interest – especially at a time in the 90s and early 2000s when IT was a particularly trending field of study – Prasad is now the Chief Executive Officer of Institute of Software Engineering.

During his time in the industry, Prasad worked within several different capacities that allowed him to not only gain experience but rather knowledge and insights on the ongoing growth of Software Engineering too. He perceived that the prospect of several opportunities blooming in the field was unmatched and of great possibility in the decades to come. “I realized software was going to be the future of the tech world at that juncture”, Prasad shares.

The shortage of skilled software professionals in Sri Lanka at the time was quite significant. That made catering the future demands of the workplace a bit of a challenge. With this context in mind, Prasad extended his leadership skills in establishing the Institute of Software Engineering. Being one of the leading IT educational providers within the nation, IJSE focuses on producing apt and well-founded software engineers who can keep up with the constant advancement of the industry.

At IJSE, students are offered a variety of brilliantly crafted training programmes to select from. Elaborating further on the services that IJSE has to offer, Prasad mentions that the institute provides result-oriented opportunities to anyone who aspires to excel in Software Engineering regardless of their age, experience or past and ongoing profession. “Our audience consists of school leavers, professionals in the software industry as well as professionals from other disciplines who are keen to make a brave career change”, Prasad states. “We have nurtured, guided and introduced professionals to the IT industry since 2016”.

Correlating Prasad’s ethos and characteristics as a leader in terms of the philosophies at IJSE, he talks about identifying the gaps and grooming students accordingly, thus equipping them with the mandatory skill sets to help them excel as Software Engineers in the industry. “Starting as a software engineer alone would not get someone there. It requires sound knowledge, solid hands-on experience, positive attitude, and a strong passion for this industry”, Prasad explains. As a result of the institute’s dedication, the students from IJSE possess a huge demand in the modern-day Software Engineering industry.

The ability to live a comfortable life largely depends on possessing a career that provides financial stability and security. For most people such a concept derives through the means of a single source of income – ‘the JOB’ as Prasad puts it. However, he goes on to mention the presence of certain jobs or industries that provide a stable means of income sooner than later. “Software industry is one such area where it demands you to evolve and adapt to the fast-moving world, and of course, gives you opportunities in a broader spectrum. Obviously, the reward of accepting and embracing such demands and opportunities is high income and financial security, among others”, Prasad states with a sense of confidence.

It is in plain sight that the country as a whole has undergone many obstacles which have impacted several industries in various sectors. The economic crisis of late has set many businesses towards conducting ramifications in order to aid towards the futuristic success of companies. Prasad believes that any crisis delivers both positives and negatives. “The positives do come in the form of new opportunities, markets, strategies and innovations”. He emphasizes on the importance of identifying them and acting accordingly.

Having encountered setbacks for the past two decades and half, not just within Sri Lanka but globally too, Prasad’s cornerstone was to identify the right momentum in the mindset of it all. “The IT sector and Software Engineering in particular, paved such huge opportunities amidst this crisis and the key was to identify them carefully and timely”, he explains. With Software Engineering taking on a drastic change amidst such a period of time, the need for more advanced software solutions rose to heights. This in turn resulted in huge workforce demand.

The demand led towards many professionals from other work fields crossing over to Software Engineering. As a vastly experienced entity, IJSE has become one of the leading sought after places for the professionals who aspire to cross-over or upgrade their domain. As the CEO of IJSE, Prasad is humbled and proud to mention that IJSE doubled its revenue at a time when the vast majority of companies struggled during this crisis period. 

Reaching out to the young and upcoming entrepreneurs, Prasad tells all to concentrate on your development from inception while also identifying the aperture and taking bold steps in filling them. “When and how you are going to make your next bold move will turn things out for you”. Wanting to part with a word towards the employers and recruiters too, Prasad says, “Keep investing on resources which identify people, who will lead to the growth of an organization. Furthermore, transfer your vision, not only down the hierarchy, but to the future chapters and generations of the organization”.