HNB Assurance S2O program wins international CSR award

Tuesday, 7 October 2014 02:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HNB Assurance won the ‘HR Practices in Corporate Social Responsibility’ award for their School to Office (S2O) Program, at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress Awards held in Bangalore, India recently. HNB Assurance initiated S2O last year and it created a buzz among school-leavers, jobseekers and their parents. The main objective of the program was to train and provide 100 school-leavers/ jobseekers with the overall knowledge and skills that are required to get them employed and help them perform well at work. With that objective in mind, the program was designed covering 10 key modules such as transformation from a student to a professional, world of work, business English, IT, numerical skills, communication and presentation skills, leadership and teamwork, workplace ethics and etiquette, service excellence, sales and marketing and other relevant topics.

Due to the visibility given to the program, the company received more than 2,000 applicants from all parts of Sri Lanka. The project went on for six weeks which included 100 lecture hours, practical training and Outward Bound training. The program was conducted in Colombo in two batches. During the entire period, the participants gained some practical exposure on work life while they had the privilege of listening to the life experiences of some senior management team members of HNBA. There were also external trainers who conducted specific training modules. In addition to this, they underwent an Outward Bound Training exercise which gave them a unique opportunity to relate what they learnt to corporate and personal life. At the end of the program, students were evaluated with a written test, practical exposure and an assignment. The program concluded with an awards ceremony in the presence of the Managing Director of HNB Assurance, the Executive Committee and other management staff of HNBA. Participants who successfully completed the program received a certificate and transcript at the closing ceremony. Speaking about winning the award, HNB Assurance PLC Managing Director Manjula De Silva said: “Winning an international award relating to CSR for the School to Office Program conducted by the Human Resources Division is an endorsement of our commitment to youth in this country who are seeking gainful employment. “Our objective through the S2O program was to train and develop schools-leavers/ job-seekers on the general skills that are required to gain employment and perform better at work. We have received positive feedback about the program from many parties including participants, parents and external trainers, indicating its success.”

HNB Assurance Head of Human Resources Thilan Perera revealed that the uniqueness of this program is that it was particularly designed for jobseekers to identify the gap between their knowledge and skills and what employers expect from a candidate seeking a job. He thanked the trainers and training institutes who contributed to the success of the project. HNB Assurance has already commenced the School to Office Programme 2014 as well. Those who are below 25 years of age and currently looking for a job can send in their application (CV/ Bio Data) for the program by post to ‘School to Office Program, Human Resources Division, HNB Assurance PLC, 10, Sri Uttarananda Mawatha, Colombo 3’. They can also email their CV to [email protected] or submit it through the special S2O app on HNB Assurance Facebook page. The closing date for submission will be 20 October 2014. HNB Assurance Plc is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in Sri Lanka with a network of 51 branches. HNBA is a composite insurance company with a rating of A (lka) by Fitch Rating Lanka for ‘National Insurer Financial Strength Rating’ and ‘National Long- term Rating’. HNBA is also rated within the Top 100 Brands and Top 100 companies in Sri Lanka by LMD and it recently won international awards for Brand Excellence, Digital Marketing and HR Excellence and also won many awards for its Annual Reports at ceremonies organised by CA Sri Lanka (the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka), ACCA (Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants) Sri Lanka and SAFA (South Asian Federation of Accountants).