ICT Industry Skills Council to promote ICT skills for inclusive growth

The ICT Industry Skills Council (ICTISC), the apex body that plays a pivotal role in the development of ICT Skills in Sri Lanka, elected a Board of Directors for the year 2019/2020 at its Annual General Meeting held recently at Hilton Colombo Residences. An eminent entrepreneur and experienced ICT industrialist Chinthaka Wijewickrema continues his second term as the Chairman of the ICTISC.

Expressing his thanks to the members of ICTISC for their endorsement and trust, Wijewickrema said he will look to carry on the good work that the council has been doing, while bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas to complement existing initiatives and strategies of ICTISC. 

“I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead ICTISC for the second term,” said Wijewickrema and added: “Certainly, we will continue playing an active role as the voice of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry. Given the dynamic, rapidly-evolving technological environment permeating all sectors, including where the battle against poverty is waged, there is plenty to cover and ICTISC will hit the ground running.”

Key to its efforts would be continued dialogue and partnership with key stakeholders that include the Government, industry, vocational education sector and ICT users, with a view to harnessing the potential of ICT skills for promoting and supporting inclusive growth.

The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute has announced the expansion of its Board with the appointment of five new members, including a wide diversity of backgrounds and skills.

Bringing a rich mix of expertise and broad ICT industry experience, the ICTISC announced the expansion of its Board with the appointment of four new Directors, including a wide diversity of backgrounds and skills. The new appointees include Tharmarajah Suresh – Chairman and Group CEO/Zillione Holdings Ltd., Wasantha Weerakoon – COO, Techone Global Ltd., Sachith Perera – Software Architect – 99X Technologies Ltd., T. Baheerathan – Assistant General Manager – DMS Software Engineering Ltd. These appointments provide great opportunities for ICTISC to continue to advance its work in building a vibrant and resilient industry.

The development and attraction of high-level ICT skills is crucial to the growth of the economy and job creation, and has been over many years. Sri Lanka’s vision is to establish itself as a hub for the technology sector, and to meet its associated skills needs through the ICT Skills Action Plan process. ICTISC’s action plan will boost the numbers of high-level ICT graduates from the vocational education and training system and will help to meet the increase in demand for high-level ICT skills over the last decade.

The Board of the ICTISC chaired by Chinthaka Wijewickrama (Managing Director – Sala Enterprises) comprises Arjuna Manamperi – (Vice President) IESL, Shanta R. Yapa (General Secretary), Indika de Zoysa (Treasurer) Abbas Kamrudeen (Chairman FITIS), Sampath Thrimavithana (Head of Training and Talent Development Virtusa), Upendra Peiris (Vice President – Orange IT), Poorna Bandara (Vice President Consulting IFS), Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe (CEO – Lanka Bell), L.G.H. Karunarathne (Board Member –CSSL), Alanzo Doll (Board Member – BCS), Bani Chandrasena (Board Director –SLASSCOM), Prasad Hettiarachchi (Board Director – FITIS), Thilina Panduka (Assistant Director IT – Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training), Waruna Sri Dhanapala (Senior Assistant Secretary – Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and IT), Chammika Gunathilaka (Development Officer – TVEC), Wasantha Weerakoon (COO, Techone Global), T. Suresh (CEO – Zillione Holdings), Sachith Perera (Senior Software Architect – 99X), T Baheerathan (Deputy General Manager – DMS Software Engineering) and Chadika Yahampath (Manager – ICT Industry Skills Council).