Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe talks to students of the newly launched KSLNVTI in Orugodawatte yesterday. Korean Ambassador Heon Lee, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Deputy Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training Karunarathne Paranavithana, Chairman of VTA Ravi Jayawardhana and Ministry Secretary KDN Ranjith Ashoka were present.
The Korea-Sri Lanka National Vocational Training Institute (KSLNVTI) in Orugodawatte was opened yesterday with a plan to produce 1,000 qualified youth annually in hi-tech jobs within two years.
Backed by the global industrial giant South Korea, it is the most modern national hi-tech training facility in the country now. At the time this TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) facility became fully operational, Sri Lanka retained its ranking in the firmly established global benchmark for talent competitiveness for the third year running. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the chief guest on the occasion.
Coming under Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s Industry, Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Cooperative Development, Skills Development & Vocational Training Ministry, KSLNVTI has been completed at a cost of US$ 17 million as the first phase of a two stage US $ 26 million project to establish KSLNVTI and upgrade Gampaha Technical College (GTC).
The upgraded GTC under Minister Bathiudeen’s VTA, is also to be vested with the public in the last week of this month. Funding for the project has come as a loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, with additional support from KOICA and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of Korea. KSLNVTI becomes the only institution in Sri Lanka providing training at present on three latest global hi-tech-automation and robotics tech, pneumatic and hydrolics, and CNC programming –that too, up to Diploma level 5. They (and other courses) are taught at KSLNVTI by 15 Sri Lankan trainers who were coached by 10 Korean experts who already completed their roles and left (except for the present resident trainer). Joining the 20 August event with Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and PM Wickremesinghe were State Minister Buddhika Pathirana, Deputy Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training Karunarathne Paranavithana and Chairman of VTA Ravi Jayawardhana.
“We need to know our challenges. We should advance from upper middle income to high income country. Korea has not only given money for this institution but technical skills as well. We thank Korea for all this support” added PM Wickremesinghe.
Addressing the event, Minister Bathiudeen stressed of Sri Lanka’s status within global skills tables. “We all know the strong relationship between vocational training, skills development and labour productivity of any country. This year Sri Lanka again successfully retained its global ranking with regard to skills. In the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, we rank at 82nd, continuing in the same position since 2017 without a change. This year, except for India, Sri Lanka ranks higher than all South Asian countries.
This unchanged rank shows that our national skills development efforts are working. Also across the world, service exports too have been growing rapidly in the last few years. Sri Lanka’s service exports also have been growing and diversifying.
ICT/BPM, electronics, construction, engineering, Printing and packaging, health and education are our key service exports. Of all these, three service exports -which are ICT/BPM, electronics, printing and packaging services -alone contributes to around US$ 1.3 billion export revenues every year. Good skills training shall help this sector to grow as well.”
Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Sri Lanka Heon Lee said of the importance of human resources. “Nothing is more important than human resources,” he said and added “Ten years from now, students of KSLNVTI will lead Sri Lanka’s transformation.”
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