Refurbished Ratnapura District Vocational Training Centre given back to students
View(s):Being a developing country, in Sri Lanka more than 300,000 students sit for Advance Level examination every year. Out of this lot, only a few students around 30,000 are given the opportunity of higher education in the state universities. From the rest, some seek private educational institutes for higher education or find available opportunities at overseas. Eliminating all these options, around 2 lakhs of students try to achieve their dreams through mastering their skills and talents with Vocational Training.
With the intention of being an aid these students and in order to provide them with the best facilities, the renovated Ratnapura District Vocational Training Centre was officially opened 1st of March with the patronage of Mr Karunarathne Paranawithana, the Deputy Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training.
The AANSHIKA vocational development programme funded by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank added this project. Spending an amount of Rs. 60 million in total, the project includes a new two storied building.
Mr Karunarathne Paranawithana spared few minutes to share his ideas with us and he said, “Given the Social attitude and the mindset, Sri Lankan youth show less interest in joining with our institutes for vocational or skill development course. This is an attempt to enhance the system, and it is also a campaign to encourage more students into our system. NVQ is an internationally recognised system, and this is a good choice for school leavers or students after their O/L’s or A/L’s where they can achieve their dream of a degree and a well-paid career in both national and international levels.”
By this project, it has enabled the opportunity for many young and potential individuals in the Rathnapura area to develop their knowledge and utilise their skills in many areas including Vehicle repairing, Air conditions And Refrigerator Repairing, Beauty Culture, Vehicle Painting, Welding, Information Technology, Sawing, Gardening and much more. “There are some areas we need to pay special attention to.” said Mr Paranawithana.”For example, if you look at the construction industry, hospitality industry, caregiving and the IT sectors, there is a growing national and international demand for these subjects. We have put extra focus on developing those areas. Therefore, we are continuously updating our courses, eliminating the outdated programmes and updating the courses with more demands so it will cater international demands as well.”
He also added, “At our institute we model the students developing their knowledge, skills and attitudes. And all our teachers have completed the NVQ Level 5 or above and with excellent industrial experiences, so they can guide the students not only providing them theoretical knowledge but also by giving them proper training.”
This training centre is under the Vocational Tainting Authority of Sri Lanka and as for the technology and equipment; the institute has made sure that their students are provided with the best quality machinery needed. Sri Lanka Vocational Training Institute is the largest and only educational institute that provides free vocational guidance in Sri Lanka.
Under the guidance of the ministry, there are a total number of 270 vocational training centres at every corner in Sri Lanka facilitated with all the modern technology and equipment. Facilitating all these opportunities for the Sri Lankan students the ministry has every intention to bring up a generation with knowledge and skills.
- Thishana M. Rajanayake