Study Plantation Management at NIPM

The National Institute of Plantation Management was established in 1979 under the Parliamentary Act No. 45, in order to grant training opportunities on technical and management aspects in the sector of plantation management. NIPM offers the knowledge, guidance and the best qualifications for those who are targeting a career in the industry of plantation. Under the supervision of the chairman Mr. Deepthi Abeywickrame” Director Dr. Prasad Dharmasena and with the influence of the Minister of Plantation Industries, Mr. Navin Dissanayake NIPM has become the only institute of plantation management dedicated to educating the planters in Sri Lanka.

NIPM offers professional training programs in areas including Tea Manufacturing, Rubber Manufacturing Coconut Processing and also in Language Proficiency necessary for the industry. Specialty of this diploma offered by the National Institute of Plantation Management is that it merges the two sectors of plantation and management so the students will get an idea of the whole process starting from production till distribution of the product.

Each course in NIPM is developed in order to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the factory and office activities involved in the plantation industry and it targets to develop the efficiency and effectiveness in the areas of decision making and performance. Moreover, NIPM offers their students a two year training period in well recognized plantation companies and in private tea factories in order to provide them the best practical experience and the guidance necessary for the field.

The curriculum of this diploma cover a vast area related to plantation industry and its management including grading, packing and dispatch, maintenance of tea machinery and equipment, perform supervisory/administrative functions, contribution to human resource management and development module and much more.

The curriculum of NIPM includes, Plantation Extension Management courses from NVQ level 5 ( Diploma) up to NVQ Level 7 ( Degree) for candidates with an extension personnel attached to crop based institutions with a minimum of three (03) years’ experience and Plantation Crop Technology courses from NVQ level 5( Diploma) to NVQ Level 7 ( Degree) for candidates with 03 Passes in G. C. E Advanced Level. All these courses are conducted by professional teachers and experts in the field.

With a legacy of 39 years, NIPM has been able to guide and support all the top rated planters in the Sri Lankan plantation industry. NIPM encourage and train their students for self- employment and for several other national and international professions in the plantation sector. With the qualification NVQ- 05 students have the opportunity to become asst. managers, extension officers, technical officers, traders and development officers and much more. NVQ-06 targets the job opportunities of experimental officers, exporters/ importers, agencies and several others while with NVQ-07 qualifies the students for much higher career options including administrators, processing development officers and policy planners.

During the past year, NIPM has accomplished many of their targets including the introduction of level 4 of NVQ targeting school dropouts, conducting 114 programmes to train small-scale crop farmers under the programme of poverty allevia- tion in Sri Lanka and drafting and planning of a new NIPM centre in Deniyaya.

Currently NIPM has planned a project to develop their plantation management diploma up to the university degree level with the support of the Government, under an estimated budget of Rs. 314 million. Also NIPM is planning to develop the infrastructure facilities within the institute including the hostel facilities and new classrooms.

Taking a step closer towards this advancement, NIPM is laying the foundation for a new building scheme on 18th of November with the participation of the State Minister of Plantation Industries Mr. Champika Premadasa, and the with the patronage of the Minister of Plantation Industries, Mr. Navin Dissanayake.

Parliament Minister, Mr Navin Dissanayake stated that, this programme is a result of the attempt to get the influence of the private sector for the development of the public sector. According to him, the sector of public plantation management could be aided and developed with the benefit and ideas of the private sector. Furthermore he implied that this could be used as a test model which could be implemented in other sectors such as marketing and finance. Thishana M. Rajanayake