Developing soft skills is the mantra for success for Northern Province: The Management Club Jaffna

For many decades in the past, especially the period before the civil war, the Northern Province, mainly Jaffna District, was the cauldron of educational prowess. Now, in the post war era, all five districts in the Northern Province occupy the bottom rows of the table on pass rates in GCE O/L and A/L results. Is this the end of the road for the future generation of the Northern Province youth? A respectful and hopeful answer is NO.

No matter the culture or country, it is important to consider parents, teachers, mentors or organisations as a consumer group and seek out their views and expectations. Involving the future generation in their education and skill development is an imperative part of providing effective knowledge and skills. 

This is especially important when the situation involves the young generation with significant cognitive skills, complex communication needs, or the youth who are, on many instances, dependent on experienced mentors in their lives to determine their needs and interests in order to make the best decisions on their behalf and to and to achieve success in their life.

“All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

It has become imperative that progress and upward mobility in position in any organisation, be it State sector or private sector, along with the hard skills, soft skills are important to possess regardless of where you are in your professional career. Soft skills give you a solid base to establish oneself as an exemplary employee, colleague, manager or boss. 

Soft skills refer to both interpersonal skills and character traits that elucidate how a person can work and interact with others. This category of skills encompasses a wide range of skills such as leadership, critical thinking, listening, adaptability, teamwork, empathy, time management, etc. Further, more emphasis on soft skills is put over hard skills which mainly constitute of specific set of knowledge and quantifiable abilities. 

Soft skill development is paramount in every individual’s life because they are universally required in almost every industry and field. Soft skills are traditionally challenging to teach and very much distinguished from the hard skills of technical knowledge and abilities. Essentially, Soft skills are how accomplished people navigate the world. It’s how they solve problems, communicate well, and adapt to challenges in their lives.

While the universities and professional educational institutions look after the hard skill development, the nurturing and enhancement of the soft skill development should neither be left in the lurch nor ignored. This is where TMC is taking the initiative of going to Jaffna to contribute towards filling the gap, in conjunction with its objectives.

In the light if this existential reality, let us take a walk back to the year 2002. The Management Club (TMC) was inaugurated in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to address some of the weaknesses encountered by professional managers who needed to develop their personalities, work ethics and leadership skills through constant interaction with those who excelled in their own fields and in other disciplines, to emerge as good managers. We have come a long way since inception with 500 plus members with five branch offices covering the Western Province. We are proud to say that TMC has conducted more than 2,500 programs and events for the members and business community

Many readers and observers might recall that the Board of Management of TMC made a formal visit to Jaffna in the recent past and discussed with some of the potential future members who will form the core of the membership. The response was quite overwhelming. Further, one of the leading hotels in Jaffna has agreed to house the TMC Jaffna Secretariat at their premises.

Unfortunately, the current COVID-19 lockdown situation has significantly curtailed the progress, momentum and the progressive activities of opening of the Jaffna branch. However, the Board of Management of TMC is very hopeful to launch the Jaffna operations in the near future subject to the improvement of the restrictions and conditions currently prevailing in the country.