ICT Industry Skills Council appoints new director board
ICT Industry Skills Council concluded its Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently, with the participation of Education Ministry Secretary Senior Prof. Kapila Perera as the keynote speaker/chief guest.
Due to the prevailing health crisis, the AGM was held digitally.
A leading entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the ICT sphere, Sala Enterprises Managing Director Chinthaka Wijewickrema was re-elected as Chairman of the ICT Industry Skills Council whilst Huawei Sri Lanka Vice President Indika de Zoysa, who is a global business leader with expertise in strategic planning, sales and marketing and business development, was appointed as Vice Chairman. Skills Development and Vocational Training Ministry Director IT Thilina Panduka, an eminent IT professional and a lecturer with public and private IT sector experience was elected as Treasurer. Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe, an experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry, was elected as General Secretary.
Addressing the audience, Prof. Perera mentioned, “The world is moving towards a knowledge and information era. ICT has become an integral part of everyday life. ICT for education has become the need of the hour under the current situation. The education sector has realised the importance of ICT education from grade one. The Education Ministry understands the gravity of both ICT education and ICT for education. ICT education empowers ICT for education not only because students must know how to access Internet, digital devises, etc. but also ICT skills have become compulsory skills in all sectors and professions in the world. Therefore, it has become a life skill in the modern world.”
Wijewickrema said, “In view of the importance of digital skills in this era, it is not surprising that the development and strengthening of such skills is an important objective in the government. Many developing countries have already started driving global innovation in technologies and business models in ICT. As a result, there is a huge demand for new knowledge and skills. Sri Lanka is still lagging behind the skills required in the 21st century. Efforts to match the current skills with the new skills required in the modern world, as a result of the rapid technological developments, have become a priority. Therefore, the government’s focus on skills development is a need of the hour.”
The following members got re-elected as Directors of the board of management of the ICTISC. Shanta Rajapaksha Yapa (Avonet (Pvt.) Ltd), Abbas Kamrudeen (Debug Computers), Sachith Perera (99X), Sampath Thrimavithana (Vitusa Corporation), Upendra Pieris (Orel Corporation), Alanzo Doll (BCS, Sri Lanka Section), Prabhath Samindra (CSSL), Prasad Hettiarachchi (Agaya Holdings), T. Baheerathan (DMS Software), Wasantha Weerakoon (Sanje Lanka), T. Suresh (Zillion Holding), Bani Chandrasena (SLASSCOM), Manoj Ganepola (TVEC), Samira Jayawardena (ICTA), Vilroy de Silva (NAITA), S.M. Dayaratne (Finance Ministry) and Shouqi Omar (IFS).