John Keells Foundation pilots ‘Skill into Progress’ for service providers of leisure sector

JKH Destination Management Sector CEO Nalaka Amaratuna addressing the gathering at the inaugural session in Colombo

JKH Head of Operations - CSR Carmeline Jayasuriya sharing her thoughts

Participants of the ‘SKIP’ program

John Keells Foundation, the CSR entity of the John Keells Group, launched ‘Skill into Progress (SKIP)’ – a new initiative to support the up skilling of identified supplier groups of the John Keells Group to enhance their standard and quality of service and thereby income opportunities in a post-pandemic environment. 

The inaugural session of  ‘SKIP’ was held on 6 July at John Keells Head Office in Colombo-2 with the introduction of a customised program to enhance the English language communication skills of chauffeur guides of Walkers Tours (WTL) and Whittal Boustead Travel (WBTL) and safari jeep drivers of Yala sourced through Cinnamon Nature Trails. 

The pilot program targeting 40 pre-assessed candidates – comprising approximately 50% from Colombo and Yala respectively – is funded under the John Keells English Language Scholarship Program, a long-term initiative of John Keells Foundation (JKF), and is implemented in collaboration with WTL and WBTL together with technical partner Gateway Language Centre. 

Speaking at the inauguration, JKF Head of Operations Carmeline Jayasuriya stated: “John Keells Foundation is delighted to introduce this initiative to upskill supplier groups associated with our businesses at a time when livelihoods have been greatly challenged by a global pandemic. We are delighted to partner with WTL, WBTL and Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts in this pilot program for chauffeur guides and jeep drivers.  “The Foundation has been empowering various target groups over the past 15 years under its vision of ‘Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow’. We hope that this initiative will help enhance your English communication skills in a way that positively impacts your quality of service and market demand. 

“I would like to acknowledge the ready support extended by the Gateway Language Centre in developing this customised program within a short period and also our John Keells volunteers particularly from the leisure sector who will be supporting the participants in completing this course.”

Addressing the gathering, John Keells Group Destination Management Sector CEO Nalaka Amaratunga stated: “It is important to be ready and prepared when Sri Lanka resumes tourism, and this downtime has given us the opportunity to sharpen the skills of our chauffeur guides and jeep drivers. 

“WTL and WBTL, as responsible entities of the largest conglomerate in Sri Lanka, are keen to contribute significantly to uplift the image of the country and rebuild tourism with the support of all our stakeholders and together with JKF make this initiative a success.”

Speaking on behalf of the technical partner, Gateway Language Centre Manager Wathsala Dissanayake said: “Gateway has been working with John Keells Foundation for the past 15 years. We are excited to take this new initiative forward and would like to thank JKF for the opportunity.”

21 chauffeurs selected from Colombo were present at the inauguration and expressed their pleasure in being provided this opportunity in these challenging times. The program will involve 36 hours of industry-related English communication skills training. Selection was based on a pre-assessment conducted by Gateway Language Centre and successful candidates will receive a Certificate of completion. 

W.G.C Priyal, a participant from Colombo, commented: “I would like to thank John Keells Foundation and Walkers Tours for arranging this program for us. We participated in a few classes and found it to be very useful and I believe we will be able to sharpen our skills by the end of this course.”