Dhammika Fernando appointed APFHRM President and Board Member of WFPMA

CIPM Sri Lanka President Dhammika Fernando has been appointed as the Head of the prestigious Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM) and a Board Member of the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) in July. 

APFHRM comprises of Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. WFPMA comprises of five federations of people management associations representing each continent/geographic region. 

An experienced human resource and business professional, Dhammika took over the stewardship of the CIPM Sri Lanka in June 2018. He currently functions as the Executive General Manager and the Local Chief Officer of Tropical Findings Ltd., a Japanese multinational. 

He also functioned as the Chairman of FTZ Manufacturers’ Association for five consecutive years and served on the National Labour Advisory Council. He is also a member of the National Wages Board for the Apparel Trade. Dhammika served as the Vice President of the Organisation of Professional Association (OPA) as CIPM nominee in 2018 and is currently an Executive Committee Member of OPA. 

Dhammika participated in many international HR conferences representing CIPM Sri Lanka and led many delegations to regional and world HR events including CIPD International Conference in UK as well as HR conferences in Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Fiji Islands and Maldives. As a guest speaker and panellist in some of these conferences, he shared his HR related experiences and insights adding value to the participants. 

He was elected to the Board of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resources Management in 2019 and was instrumental in winning the hosting rights of the prestigious World HR Congress 2020 to be hosted by CIPM in Sri Lanka which was keenly contested by other countries in the region such as Australia and Philippines. 

Currently, he is the Vice President for the Gulf Region of APFHRM. As a respected regional HR professional, he assisted the HR fraternity in the Maldives to establish a Maldivian Association for Human Resource Professionals (MAHRP) and introduced it to the APFHRM for appointment as a member country.   

As the President of CIPM Sri Lanka, Dhammika initiated and rolled out many key strategic changes which significantly enhanced the quality of services and curriculum, operational efficiency and effectiveness while also leading CIPM on an inclusive growth and expansion trajectory, reaching out to HR professionals and HR career aspirants in the outstations. 

Some of the key milestones achieved during his tenure as President were receiving the prestigious Charter Status by the Parliament Act (Amended) No. 31 of 2018, mapping the CIPM study programs to Sri Lanka Qualification Framework (SLQF), and launching of Chartered Qualification in HRM (CQHRM) setting up of a state-of-the-art centralised CIPM Study Centre in Colombo-5, Ratnapura and Negombo. 

This also includes the opening of the modern CIPM Knowledge Centre to go with the digitisation strategy of the strategic plan, expansion and relocation of the Kurunegala regional centre providing state-of-the-art facilities for the students and stakeholders, introduction of the first-ever HR Glossary with over 7,000 words and emerging as the winner of the Merit Award at the Sri Lanka National Quality Award (SLNQA) under the Education Sector – medium category. 

Some of the key highlights during his tenure includes initiating the digitalisation process, commencing virtual/online programs, implementing a Green Environment policy, Quality policy, appointment of CIPM as the Country Representative of ISO TC260 Technical Committee for HR Standards, and developing policies, procedures and processes for the Business School and all departments. 

This also includes the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Benedict XVI Institute in Negombo, Sabaragamuwa Chamber of Commerce, Open University and SLIIT with the objective of expanding academic and institutional cooperation in the field of HRM, enhancing revenue streams, and initiating a well-coordinated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.