Tokyo Cement partners NAITA to boost competence in local construction sector
A far-reaching Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC and the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA).
The agreement was made with the objective of enhancing professional competence of construction craftsmen, by giving them the opportunity to obtain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).
The MOU will see the two organisations join forces to upgrade skills of masonry craftsmen with professional and industry knowledge by providing them training and certification facilities at Tokyo Cement’s A.Y.S. Gnanam Construction Training Academy in Dambulla, under the expert guidance and supervision of NAITA.
The agreement was signed between NAITA Chairman Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma and Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC Chairman Dr. Harsha Cabral PC, at a recently held ceremony at the NAITA Head Office in Rajagiriya.
Directors, along with Deputy and Assistant Directors of all Divisions of NAITA were present at this event, signifying their strategic engagement in driving this agreement to fruition. Representing Tokyo Cement Group, Director/consultant Christopher Fernando, Research and Development Director Dr. M.G.M.U. Ismail, Consultant Engineer Eng. Mouly Gunarathna, Tokyo Supermix General Manager Eng. Janaka Perera and Group Marketing Manager Dashantha Udawatte were also present at the event.
NAITA is dynamically involved at district level in every part of the country, by offering training opportunities to encourage youth and professionals to obtain a recognised qualification in a variety of fields of employment.
Tokyo Cement Group on the other hand, has been providing a yeoman service to the Construction Industry by conducting Training Programmes for masons across the county, since the year 1997.
Furthermore, an ultra-modern training institute was established in Dambulla in 2012, in memory of the Founder Chairman of Tokyo Cement Company, late Deshamanya A.Y.S. Gnanam, which facilitates formal Masonry training for school leavers.
The A.Y.S. Gnanam Construction Training Academy, accredited by the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, can accommodate 50 residential trainees and comprises of a fully-fledged auditorium, and practical training facilities, inclusive of all necessary tools and building material required to conduct comprehensive training sessions. Annually over 200 masons obtain their professional qualification at the institute and become active participants of nation building, while some of them bring in valuable foreign exchange through skilled employment in other countries.
The two organisations have been close collaborators for many years in facilitating professional training in the field of construction, and with this new understanding will improve the impact of the programme by reaching out to all parts of the country via the NAITA District Office network.
Tokyo Cement Group Consultant Engineer Mouly Gunarathna worked closely with NAITA Director General J.C.K. Basnayake to formalise this long-standing partnership between the two organisations, in order to bring more value to masons who wish to uplift their professional standing with a globally recognised NVQ certification.
At the occasion, NAITA Chairman Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma highlighted the importance of strategic public-private partnerships such as this to bring in new energy to the efforts of the government to improve the national skill pool. He further expressed his confidence on this partnership, with Sri Lanka’s largest and only fully locally owned cement manufacturer, that will harness the strengths of both organisations, to deliver best in class training opportunities via Tokyo Cement’s Training Academy that will further reiterate NAITA’S commitment and reputation.