R.

Sri Lanka.
14th June 2020

Visa Officer
High Commission of Canada to Sri Lanka
33A, 5th Lane,
Colpetty
Colombo 03
Sri Lanka

Dear Sir/Madam,

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
INTRODUCTION

My name is ……………………………………………… Sri Lanka, bearer of Passport Number

N………….. I am looking forward to reading a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the
University of Canada West. This degree programme was carefully selected by myself having taken
few factors in to consideration such as relevance of my past academic qualifications / my current
work experience / global recognition of the university and future aspirations of my career life. This
statement will elaborate in detail about my choice of higher studies in Canada and in particular
University of Canada West.
MY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

I always believe that “Learning is a never-ending process” and it is vital for every individual to cope
up with the new challenges and grab opportunities promptly in today’s business world. Until 2016, I
had been continuously studying and I am now reaping the benefits of those learnings by way of
applying them in the real-world business. My academic and professional qualifications are as follows.
1. Secondary Education
 I passed my G.C.E Ordinary level G.C.E. (O/L) examination in 2007.
 Passed my G.C.E. Advanced level G.C.E.(A/L) studied in Commerce Stream in 2010 &
got selected to State University (University of Sri Jayewardenepura) to read B.Com
Degree.
2. Tertiary / Higher Education.
 B.Com Special 4 years degree – completed in January 2016 (University of Sri
Jayewardenepura-Sri Lanka)
 PQHRM 3 years general (bachelor) degree (i.e. Professional Qualification in Human
Resource Management) – completed in October 2016 (Charted Institute of Personnel
Management)
 3. Other Professional Qualification
- Certificate Course in HRM– Charted Institute of Personnel Management (CCHRM
– 6 months) in January 2014.
- Charted Accountancy Certificate Level 1 - at the Institute of Chartered
Accountancy of Sri Lanka in November 2012. (reg. No ………….).
- Successfully completed 50hrs. IT Application in Business Finance & Application
Reporting Course at the Institute of CA Sri Lanka in May 2012.
- IELTS Overall 6.5 (Listening – 6, Writing-6, Speaking – 7.5, Reading- 6.5) in
February 2020.
MY WORK EXPERIENCE

Position Organization Duration No of years

……………………….. Pvt. April-2017 To Up to 3 Years & 2
Executive –HR
Ltd today Months
Labour Planning …………………………… Pvt. March-2016 to Nov-
8 Months
Executive Ltd. 2016
……………………………… Pvt. Sep-2015 to March
HR Assistant 6 Months
Ltd. 2016

Trainee – HR …………………… Pvt Ltd Jan-2015 to May 2015 5 Months

Multi Duty Account Clerk …………………. Pvt Ltd Jan-2011 to May 2011 5 Months

In 2010, I sat for the G.C.E. Advanced level (A/L) examination and I was selected for intake
2010/2011 at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. This examination is one of highly competitive
and toughest examinations in Sri Lanka and I was among one of 10th who got selected to study in the
above said University out of 200,000+ student base who had studied Advance Level in Sri Lanka.

There was a period about 9 months until my university admission is called. I thus thought that I could
gain some commercial experience before beginning my higher studies. Despite of being a fresher and
lack of experience in the business context, yet I wanted to explore the job opportunities available in
the market given the paper qualification in my hand by that time rather than staying at home. Having
made few attempts, I was able to secure a job at Laugf Lubricants Pvt Ltd, As Multi Duty Account
Cleark & I initially opted my career in Accounting field since I had studied Accounting, Economics
and Business Studies as key- subjects in my Advance Level studies. During my tenure at LAUGF
Company, I gathered a great deal of experience while working as a Multi Duty Account Clerk. I
performed duties such as petty cash handling, bills entering / book keeping / recording Journal entries
/ prepare monthly petty cash analysis report / issuing GRN (Good Receive Note) so on. I would rather
say that the knowledge & the exposure I gained through this job are still useful and this is where I
took my first step of my own corporate ladder.

In the month of October in 2011, I began to read B.Com Degree at the University of Sri
Jayewardenepura. This degree program is specialized in Accounting and covers 40 subjects in the
business field such as Marketing, Information Technology, Strategic Management, Human Resource
Management, Accounting, Organizational Behavior, Research Methodology, Advance Level Macro
and Micro Economic Theories etc. In my final year, we were expected to gain about six months
industrial experience as a part of completing our degree programme. At this stage student was given
the liberty to choose their Training/Career in Accounting field or any other field (should be relevant
to the degree program) according to the preference of individual. I thus was attracted towards HRM
& Administration field as I had been following HRM degree at the Institute of Personnel
Management by then and my determination to be a leader in the field HRM and Administration. As
a result, I joined the Ceylon Biscuits Pvt Ltd as HR Intern in the month of January 2015. During
the internship programme at Ceylon Biscuits (Pvt) Ltd, I had my formal initial exposure to HRM
through several programmes like “A Training analysis for Middle Level Managers” and “a great
place to work for all” which intensified my desire for HRM & Administration.

As I expected in my 2nd year, I was determined to complete my academic & professional qualification
both during my university time and my hard work did pay off in the end as I completed both degrees
before the end of December 2016. Adding to this, I finished the Charted Accountancy Certificate
Level 1 - at the Institute of Chartered Accountancy in November 2012 & did not complete the entire
course as I was keen on HRM & Administration later on.

MY CURRENT WORK PLACE

My current organization namely, ………………………….. (Pvt.) Ltd is an
associate of the parent company – CIS International Holdings (N.A.) Corp based in USA. Our
company could be known as the Strategic Global-Service Hub that is formed to cater to both local &
global business operations & live-stock management in the pet industry through the latest IT
solutions.

We have about seven subsidiaries across the world namely, Siam Tropical Fish, Tropical Fish
International Pvt. Ltd – Sri Lanka, Automated System International Inc, Tropical Aquarium Fiji Ltd,
Tropical Fish International Pvt. Ltd – USA, Tropical Fish International Pvt. Ltd–Australia &
Tekenowledge Shared Service Pvt Ltd. My company, Tekenowledge Shared Service is dedicated
providing all the (BPM) Business Process Management solutions such as Finance / Marketing / IT
Development & Support / HRM / Administration / Research & Development/ Logistic / Warehouse
Management etc. for the whole group as well as other external customers.
In addition, nine fish breeding centers island-wide are being currently operated under the direct
purview of my company. Furthermore, our group of company is one of leading fish exporter in the
SL business context that contributes approximately about US $ 150M – 200M & Our Customers are
Fortune 1000 level global Pet Industry leaders in the world.

CURRENT EMPLOYEMENT - EXECUTIVE (HRM)

I joined ……………………………….. (Pvt) Ltd in 2015 as HR Assistant and then I was promoted
as Labour Planning Executive within 6 months. I left my job in November 2016 owing to couple
of major reasons. One reason was that the job role that I was entrusted did not help me to sharpen my
knowledge & competencies as I expected initially since it was a narrow job role & more into data
mining / entering and report creation for the employees who work overseas. Second reason was my
desire to get myself exposed to a foreign business environment. I thus found a job in Dubai in
November 2016 & accepted the offer. While I was working in Dubai, again I got a better offer with
a designated position in HRM Dept. of my present organization. I thus accepted the aforementioned
position and joined the organization having taken few facts into consideration such as better package,
friendly & known working culture of the organization, my ambitions to complete higher studies &
family obligations etc.
Coming back to Sri Lanka & being employed at my current workplace is one of very prudent
decisions I have ever made at given time. During my tenure at Tekenowledge Shared Services (Pvt)
Ltd I gathered a vast amount of knowledge and experience while playing responsible job role in the
organization.

My Rewards and USA-Visit Visa Refusal

As a part of recognizing employee work performance and commitment, on annual basis one batch of
best performers & senior employees group wide are selected by my organization and invite them to
visit the parent company in USA, California (i.e. CIS International Holdings). In ……….., I was
selected for this onsite visit invited by the management of the company. This visit is fully arranged
& funded by my parent company. I thus arranged all my documents & took part in the interview in
the USA embassy accordingly. Unfortunately, the visa was refused by USA embassy stating that
the purpose of the visit is unclear & details given are insufficient. It was denied under section
………………

WHY SHOULD I OBTAIN HIGHER EDUCATION WITH FOREIGN EXPOSURE?

I have spent more than 4 and half years in the corporate world holding several designations from
trainee to executive level. But I feel nowadays that I have missed something in my career ladder that
might strike me to move forward. Though today I am highly satisfied about the choice that I made to
peruse my career in the field of Human Resource Management & Administration, I am bit concerned
about the stage that I am now in as far as my career ladder is concerned. I indeed have high thoughts
about my prospective career life in the long run just like every other, and it is my responsibility to
shape it in accordance with my own desire & the requirement of the future job market. I am thus
determined to take an extra step forward in order to strength my career life further.

As of now I have gained enough knowledge and experience to perform my current job successfully.
But earning a post-graduate education like MBA is imperative for me at this juncture to take the next
step of my career ladder & explore more career opportunities. Moreover, Today’s job market is
changing at rapid pace & highly competitive more than ever. If one is unable understand this situation
and cope up with the current trend, he/she will definitely be stuck in the same position for a quite
long time. Therefore, I am looking forward to investing my time to at this crucial time to obtain this
higher academic qualification.

Furthermore, having thoroughly analyzed my career progress, one can observe that I have been
stagnated in the same position for last three years. Even though I possess adequate amount of
experience & qualification to perform my current job role, it raises a question whether I have enough
qualification to uplift my current position to managerial role. Also, my company always encourage
me to do higher studies as a part of the next step of my individual succession plan. Hence, I believe
that I will be promoted by the management once my academic goals are accomplished. Also,
inspiration that I get from my immediate supervisor is notable during last two years to read MBA
degree at my performance review meeting that is held on quarterly basis.

As I explained earlier, my company is a global-level one and its subsidiaries are located all over the
world. As HR Executive in the organization I am dealing with different nationalities/ cultures and
multiple working environments & enjoy the conducive working atmosphere with a reasonable
compensation package. Adding to that, my company also is a fast-growing conglomerate in the
current business context of Sri Lanka and the Management is always on the lookout for expanding
the business operation across the globe. Therefore, I believe that there will be more exciting career
opportunities for me in due course. Hence, being equipped with international academic qualification
as well as international exposure at this point, will certainly help me to grasp those opportunities in
the future. Hence, I highly believe that this is the high time to obtain a foreign postgraduate degree
program under my belt.

Having taken all of above facts into consideration, I sincerely hope that I have made a wise decision
to follow my post-graduate studies in a foreign country and to get a foreign business exposure.

WHY SHOULD I STUDY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ?

From Business Management perspective, Administration is an utmost important and broad concept
that has split into almost all the areas of management in the business arena. Many of the position
from bottom to top require some sort of administrative knowledge to perform the job role in any
given organization. This is not limited to one specific field like accounting / finance / IT / Marketing
so on. As such, one needs to gain macro level understanding of whole business process to become a
successful business leader.

I immensely understand the importance of having MBA that would allow me to enhance my existing
knowledge in practical aspect on management competencies, business communication, leadership
skills, taking over global business challenges and opportunities, Formulate / evaluate / implement
business strategies etc. Furthermore, certain areas in MBA such as Marketing Management &
Strategy, Business Operations, Organizational Behavior, Human Capital Management (HCM) /
Management Critical & Analytical Skills will be enable me to hold a higher level position such as
Director- HRM & Administration in my current organization or somewhere else in the long run.

As I mentioned earlier, acquiring post-graduate education is indeed not a sudden decision as I have
been conducting many researches for sometimes over the internet while speaking to some of my
university friends who hold a post graduate education qualification & searching local & foreign
universities that conduct post-graduate programmes. Also, I have noticed few of my colleagues who
acquired post-graduate qualification are holding higher positions of well-established companies in
my home country while earning a good compensation and other fringe benefits. Thus, having done
my fact-finding mission, I was convinced that MBA program would be appropriate for me at this
occasion considering my prospective career goals and the current stage of my career ladder.

I am indeed very confident that following MBA would essentially help for my future job role that
comprise Human Capital Management (HCM), finance (i.e. payroll & management of employee
overhead cost), leadership, business operations , negotiations, effective decision making , budgeting
. organizational skills so on. Moreover, since my present job role (i.e. HR Professional) requires the
understanding of compensation package designation wise, I am well versed about the remuneration
& perks in the current job market of Sri Lanka for those who hold managerial positions with MBA
and I am certain that I too will get paid higher compensation package in the future once necessary
qualifications and exposure are acquired.

As of the date, I possess about 4 years of work experience in my present organization holding few
designations from junior level to executive level. (i.e. Assistant -HRM : 6 months / Executive –
Labour Planning : 5 months / Executive – HRM : 3years & 3 months ). I believe that the
comprehensive knowledge/experience of business domain (i.e. culture / business process /nature of
the product etc. ) & work performance that I have gained working with the company & the completion
of MBA plus foreign exposure will be key-factors for the management of my company to welcome
me back and to entrust me with a responsible job role that ultimately would pave the way for me to
go to next level upon my return to Sri Lanka.

Since My company is a well-established company in the industry that recognizes value of employee
and work performance in particular, I will be able to reach my career goal eventually which is to
become the Director – HRM & Administration. Also, my company always promote the concept of
hiring & developing internal candidate would be more effective than recruiting externally provided
few facts such as low cost / strength employee engagement etc. Thus, getting my-self prepared today
for accepting challenges the future would bring upon me is the best thing I am supposed to do today.

On the other hand, I also searched for the job opportunities available for managerial level positions
in my country & learnt that many of such positions in reputed & well-established organizations
requires 5-7 years working experience plus MBA qualification as entry criteria for applying to them.
As such, holding senior executive level position for 1-2 years with the Post-graduate education
qualification like MBA, I will be able to climb on the next step of my career ladder which is the
managerial level. Therefore, to reiterate obtaining the MBA is the right choice for me under current
circumstances towards my career progression.

WHY SELECT CANADA FOR THE HIGHER STUDIES ?

Initially, my mind was bit clouded with many thoughts as I had to make a sensible decision in regard
to the selection of best destination to peruse my higher studies. Having had a local degree (i.e. B.com
Special) from one of best state universities and a general degree (i.e. HRM from Charted Institute of
Personnel Management) from a renowned private Institute in Sri Lanka, I was highly fascinated to
complete my postgraduate qualification in an overseas country as I know certainly that will create a
huge opportunity to climb up my career ladder. As mentioned earlier, I thus conducted a small
research on my own considering few factors such as recognition of foreign academic qualification
in Sri Lanka / safety of international students / affordability & nature of foreign exposure I may gain
/ response towards natural disaster & pandemic so on in order to make an informed decision. This
research revealed me several options to explore further and was very helpful for me to take a rational
decision in the end.

Firstly, I searched the higher education programs available for me in popular education destinations
such as UK / Australia / Canada / New Zealand & USA. Having carefully analyzed all the aspects of
possible options, I was able to further narrow down those options & convinced ultimately that the
destination of my future study should be in Canada. The key reasons for my higher studies in Canada
will explain in detail below.

Chosing Canada is an economically important decision for me as the tuition fee and cost of living for
international students in Canada is extremely affordable when compared to other countries. Every
international student would find it more convenient as far as the tuition fee & monthly house rent /
daily meal & transportation expenses are concerned.

Canada is known to be one of the best peaceful countries in the world as per the Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP) reveals. This clearly reflects the safety and welcoming culture for
international students in Canada. I also noticed that Canada has a highest standard of living and
breathtaking natural environment. Most of all, Canada is a democratic, multicultural state that has
gained the popularity for being respectful to all the nationalities in the country.

Since a huge number of international students from different parts of the world are studying in Canada
I also will be exposed a multicultural environment that will create a great platform for me to exchange
ideas / learn many cultural values / deal with different nationalities / understand the business world
at global level. Therefore, this exposure will enhance my potential to reach my professional and
personal goals in the future.

In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic situation I observed that governing bodies of Canada
played a very responsible and remarkable role for the international students in Canada.

As such, I was highly fascinated by all of these features to opt my higher studies in Canada.
Benefits of Gaining MBA in Canada

When I searched the gains of studying in Canada in particular on Internet and having had a chat with
some of my university friends in different countries and in Sri Lanka, I learnt that making a choice
to study a MBA in Canada would be a viable decision. Moreover, per CIC news there were more
than 640,000 international students in Canada by the end of December 2019. The international
student population in Canada is projected to have tripled during last 10 years. These facts reveal as
to how Canada has evolved holistically to meet the demand of international students.

Moreover, I have personally experienced guys who came with degrees from UK / Australia/ Canada
/ USA & Europe seeking jobs in well established companies in Sri Lanka and in my current company
in particular have a better chance of getting selected for well-paid jobs because of their language
proficiency / exposure in dealing with multiple nationalities / wide range of understanding of global
business requirement & ability work independently with minimum supervision so on. Also, degrees
obtained from any Canadian university are generally acceptable all over the world. Many of
successful business leaders in Sri Lanka, including CEO & few of senior designated positions of my
current company possess an international degree with some foreign exposure.

As such, Completion of master’s degree in Canada would certainly enable me to attain many goals
in my professional as well as personal life in the long run.

WHY STUDY IN UNIVERSITY OF CANADA WEST ?

I certainly believe that following MBA at University of Canada West at this decisive point would be
a stepping-stone for a great success in my career life. Having talked to 4-5 education consultants in
Sri Lanka / few of my friends in Overseas countries and via internet browsing I found several
universities & institutes in Canada that could meet my requirement.
International exposure, world recognized high quality & modern education, experience with cross
culture, sophisticated technology adapted in the classroom / affordability / flexibility were few of key
factors that led to determine my choice of study needs to be in UCW.

Moreover, given my academic & professional achievements in the country (i.e. dual degrees / &
English proficiency), University of Canada West informed me that I will be taken over to read MBA
directly without any supplementary course or MBA foundations course.

Also, I was able to find out that this university is accredited by the British Columbia Ministry of
Advanced Education, Skills & Training, and carries the Education Quality Assurance (EQA)
accreditation under the 2003 Degree Authorization Act and hold the top ranked in the list of
universities of first Hundreds in Canada. Pls refer the link.

I noticed that UCW offers the classroom for a limited number of students (10-15), I thus will have
greater opportunity to be interactive with lecturers / professors easily.

I believe that the MBA conducted by UCW will prepare me for a leadership role on global stage and
sharpen my skills & competencies to execute strategies in challenging situations and drive the
business organization successfully with my rational decision making.

WHY NOT IN SRI LANKA ?

I have obtained my primary / secondary & tertiary academic qualifications thanks to the higher
education system in my home country. But this time I have chosen to follow my higher studies in a
foreign country. The key reasons that led me to arrive at this decision are as follows.
- I possess two degrees, and both are locally gained degrees. Therefore, my understanding of
the global business environment practically is very limited.
- Even though, in Sri Lanka there are several institutes / universities that conduct foreign
degrees, I am in need of exposure at global stage. ( i.e. Multicultural exposure / language
proficiency / global business environment etc. )
- In the higher education sector of my country, many lecturers have completed their education
in Sri Lanka itself and their knowledge & foreign business exposure are narrow from global
business perspective.
- Not being able to maintain an interactive knowledge – based relationship with lecturers due
to higher numbers students at the classroom per lecturer
- Quality and recognition of education in foreign countries such as Canada / Australia / UK
etc.
- Ability to complete the MBA degree within two years without any hassle or delay
- Positive impact on my career life once MBA is completed with the foreign business
exposure.
 - My desire to explore the world and to experience the culture of different nationalities

WHAT ARE MY FUTURE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES UPON MY RETURN TO SRI

LANKA?
Objectives in the short-run

My first and utmost goal is to complete my MBA within two years and acquire specific expertise
global business knowledge that enhance my potential in the job market in the long run. Upon my
return to Sri Lanka, I am looking forward to rejoining my current organization at a managerial
position and to work that leads to reach my ultimate carrier goal, to become Director – HRM &
Administration. Since I have the knowledge in business domain / business processes / organizational
culture / nature of the product & my work performance, I believe that there will be a better chance of
getting absorbed to my current organization upon my return to Sri Lanka. – Annexure -1

On the contrary, I am even getting myself equipped to meet the requirement of job market for
managerial positions in a reputed organization in Sri Lanka. I thus believe that my future will be
more secured with this initiative.

Objectives in the long run

Once my short-term goals are accomplished, I am sure that my future will be brighter. Having held
a senior managerial position, I will be able to eye on my final goal of my corporate ladder which is
to become the Director – HRM & Administration.

Once MBA degree is completed, I also would like to further explore the possibility of following a
Ph.D. degree as I have been heavily inspired by some of lectures conducted by prominent Prof.
HHDNP Opatha to follow a Ph.D. and conduct research and contribute to the community with what
I have learnt in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. As such, If there is an opportunity, I would
certainly push my limits further & take appropriate course of actions to make this final dream come
true.

In the very long run with the aid of my wife (i.e. she is a financial professional working at private
sector organization) , I am looking forward to establish a Management Consultancy firm in my home
country that provides services on Taxation / Business registration / Workforce Management /
Implementing business strategies. I am sure this would help many businessmen who failed owing to
lack of knowledge in the business world and inability to make effective business decisions.
Establishing the said consultancy firm, I also would like to make positive impact towards the
economic growth in my home country by reducing high unemployment rate / bridging the knowledge
gap of businessmen & creating more entrepreneurs etc. during my late life.
DO I HAVE TRAVEL HISTORY?

I went to Dubai in 2016 and got a Job. After completing about 5 months, I returned to my home
country owing to several reasons such as a better package & a responsible job role in HR offered by
my present organization / desire to complete higher studies and family obligations.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

My parents were very supportive for me to do higher studies and they assisted me a lot while I was
following my higher education. After I got married, my wife, ……………………… became the
main pillar in my life and motivated me mentally and monetarily to chase my dreams. She always
insists me that I should focus on my both career & academic goals. She currently works as Assistant
Manager – Finance & Administration at Nevorp Corporation (Pvt) Ltd.

Financial sponsorship is provided by my wife to cover my tuition fee and my living cost while I am
studying in Canada.
a. Sponsor: My wife (……………………)
b. Bank Name: …………………..
c. Total fixed deposits amounting to LKR …………………
My Personal Declaration
I am confident of the decision that I have made, and I hereby assure my return to home country upon
completion of my MBA successfully. As stated throughout the SOP, I have a great potential to rejoin
my present organization for a managerial position or another reputed organization in Sri Lanka upon
completion of postgraduate qualification with the exposure. Having studied and exposed to overseas
country like Canada, I am certain that I will be able to see a drastic progress in my career ladder.
Therefore, I am eagerly in need of completing my MBA degree with the foreign exposure at this
juncture.

Lastly, your favorable and prompt consideration on my request would be highly appreciated & I hereby
confirm that I wrote this statement of purpose solely by myself and the information given in the SOP
are accurate and reliable.
Thanking you,
Yours Faithfully,

……………………..
R………………
PP-N…………..