Private sector participation vital for vocational training

Since the inception of the Vocational Training in the North and East Project (VTN), there has been significant support and collaboration between the private sector and implementation partners, Deutsche GesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the KreditanstaltfürWiederaufbau (German Development Bank - KfW) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The private sector is an important stakeholder in order to expand the required resources and capacities for vocational training and at the same time to improve demand-orientation of training. The involvement of the private sector in the planning, delivery and monitoring of TVET is a crucial prerequisite for improving the labour-market orientation of TVET programmes and raising the quality of TVET graduates. Many of these programmes are centred around automobile, hospitality, electrical, electronic and bakery sectors.

One of the key supporters of TVET programmes in the North and East is the Jetwing Group of hotels that provides on-the-job training to many of the students in the hospitality programmes. In November 2014, the GIZ-VTN project, together with the Vocational Training Authority (VTA) and the Jetwing Group of Hotels signed an agreement – the first trilateral youth development project of this nature. Since then, Jetwing has come on board as a partner in hospitality training via the Jetwing Youth Development Programme, working with the VTA centre in Karainagar.

Jetwing Hotels Chairman Hiran Cooray says: “Sri Lanka is currently competing with developed nations to secure our place in the economic arena and therefore, vocational training plays an important role so as to respond to the market demand for skilled, qualified and capable individuals who meet the industry requirements.”

Cooray affirms that many of today’s youth are talented yet do not have an avenue to pursue their talents if not for entering the formal educational stream. Currently the national universities of the country can accommodate only 2% of the total student population who sit for their GCE A/L’s, therefore leading to many youth wasting their skills and abilities with no other opportunities to pursue their interest and harness their skills.

“Therefore I believe the SLGTI will help in uplifting the vocational training standards of Sri Lanka in par with existing international standards, allowing more youth to find alternative career paths and follow their passion in the ever growing private sector,” he adds.

With the launch of the Sri Lanka German Training Institute (SLGTI) on 18 July, students can further their education up to NVQ Levels 7, giving them more opportunities to advance their careers. One of the more popular programmes in vocational training is electrical and electronics, with a majority of the students hoping to start their own businesses after OJT experience. 

In 2014, Fentons, one of the country’s leading integrated solutions providers in building systems infrastructure and ICT infrastructure, came on board as a partner with the VTN project. The first batch of ten students worked on a building site in Colombo and the second batch commenced work in Passikudah in November 2015.

Fentons Ltd. Director/Head of Human Resources Ruan Abhayaratne states that the private sector has a huge role to play in the futures of these students.

“The private sector can provide inputs regarding the actual requirements for their industries in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. They should be involved in some way during the design and implementation of the curriculum. They could also provide expertise as guest lecturers, training providers for instructors and also as career guidance personnel for students who follow Vocational training,” he said. 

Over the years, Fentons has been providing students opportunities to engage in on-the-job training in projects for both students and instructors, and also provided opportunities to learn about different industries during group visits to the organisation.

The new SLGTI is built to facilitate opportunities for differently-abled persons, a considerable outcome of the 30-year war that ravaged these parts of this nation. Many of these people have been left unprepared to fend for themselves and their families and this is a chance for them to access a better future. 

The MJF Charitable Foundation has also been a strong supporter of the TVET programmes and has especially come on board to assist the differently-abled programmes. Kamalanathan, Team Leader and Manager of the MJF Charitable Foundation, said: “We have just got into negotiations with GIZ to support a specific vocational training needs for the differently-abled persons in the north with the potential to offer employability to such persons. Unfortunately we do not have any institutions in the North where we can offer OJT.”

Students in the automobile programme are given opportunities at some very exciting workshops. Since 2013, DIMO, who plays a key role in OJT programmes, have provided year-long technical training opportunities at their facilities in Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Siyamabalape. 

Other organisations like Lanka Ashok Leyland, Swami Motors in Batticaloa and Sampath Motors also offer the much needed on-the-job training for students at their training centres.

The SLGTI is open to all students who have met certain tertiary educational criteria and have completed studies up to NVQ level 3. These youth can pursue their training up to NVQ levels 4, 5 and 6 in five key areas – construction technology, automobile technology, food processing technology, electrical and electronics technology, and mechanical engineering.