The National Youth Skills Olympics....?
Training for the Olympics is no easy task, but it is possible if one develops a skill, says the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), established by Act of Parliament in 1971.
"Youth" plus "Skills" equals human resources - resources which the country needs to develop to contribute to our growing economy. This is the message which NAITA has been disseminating for the last twenty five years.
Why is there a high rate of unemployment one may ask, when there are employment opportunities in the industry for skilled personnel? The educational system in our country is geared mainly towards theoretical learning. Thus, many who are professionally qualified cannot find employment, due to lack of application of skills and practical intelligence. The Authority comes forward to bridge the gap between our educational system and the skills demanded by the economy, by giving apprenticeship training to young people.
The main objectives of NAITA are to provide vocational training and education through apprenticeship training in various trades. The trades range from automotive to gem and jewellery, printing, hotel and catering trades etc. The training consists of learning on-the-job in a real work environment under the guidance of a superior. While the practical training is provided on-the-job in a particular establishment, the theoretical training is provided through correspondence courses and classroom lectures provided by NAITA.
After the usual procedure of interview at a government or private sector establihment, the trainees are placed depending on the skill which they wish to develop. The NAITA Inspectors visit them once a month at the establishment and check their progress. The training is provided for a particular trade according to a 'Training Standard', which specifies the practical training and related theoretical instruction which should be given to the apprentices in their occupation.
All apprentices receive a monthly allowance from NAITA and most of the time from the establishment as well. The duration varies according to trainee occupation and at the end of the training, an evaluation is conducted by NAITA which is a final trade test, and certificates are awarded to the successful trainees. After their training most of the apprentices are absorbed into the establishment as permanent employees and the others find employment elsewhere or find avenues of self-employment. They are now certified in a particular field and are qualified in both theory and practice to indulge in a particular trade. However, NAITA does a 'Tracer Study' in order to follow up on those who are still unemployed after the apprenticeship training.
The Sunday Times met some of the apprentices at the Lanka Oberoi, kitchen department. They were bustling around in the pastry kitchen, baking bread, icing cakes and adding the finishing touches to mouth watering puddings. The apprentices at this hotel are being trained in the kitchen, food and beverage, housekeeping and engineering departments. The Director Personnel, at the Lanka Oberoi, Mr. Madawala said, "This is the first International hotel to employ these trainees and the chances are that they would join this establishment." He also said,"The moment they finish their training they are grabbed."He added that once they get a five star training there were many avenues open to them and most of them even find employment abroad. The apprentices at this hotel are from the October 1994 batch and they will be going on into 1997. Those in the engineering department, while being on-the-job, are undergoing lectures at the Katubedda Training Institute of NAITA. The Kitchen Trainees, however, attend classroom lectures conducted by The Lanka Oberoi itself.
The apprentices placed at United Motors were clad in overalls and busily working under the guidance of their superiors. They told The Sunday Times that they were pleased about NAITA's training programme, because it gave them a chance to gain experience in a reputed automobile firm. They are undergoing training in all sections including car, van, heavy repair etc. The Manager Business Development at United Motors, Shantha Silva said they have been getting trainees from NAITA for the last twenty years.
Being an automobile firm, they require skills such as auto mechanics, electricians, tinker welders, painters, general welders etc. There is an Officer monitoring their training in addition to the Inspector from NAITA who comes in every month. At United Motors the drop-out rate is low, because they receive training under the guidance of experts and the apprentices know they are at an advantage. Mr. Silva added that these apprentices receive theoretical training at one of the NAITA Taining Institute in addition to the training given by United Motors on Mitsubishi technology.
The Authority which is under the Ministry of Science Technology and Human Resources Development, is one of the few government establishments which cater to the needs of the unemployed youth in this country. Isn't there a need to establish other organisations such as these, one may ask, in order to develop the human resources in this country? A spokesman for the Ministry of Labour said that at present, there is the Vocational Training Institute under the Ministry of Labour, The National Youth Services Council and the various training centres under the Department of Social Services, which help young people to develop their vocational skills. But, these institutions contribute effectively in the way of developing human resources.
The British Council Report of 1995 commenting on the Sri Lanka Vocational Training Project said "In 1994 NIBM (National Institute of Business Management) carried out a tracer study to find out what happened to trainees at the end of their training."
"Unemployment was highest for the output of the Mobile Training Centres at 63%, National Youth Service Centres was at 53%, private/NGOs was at 46% and Technical Colleges was at 43%. However, the integrated training programme for NAITA apprentices is by far the most effective with an unemployment rate of only 18%.
Are the young people of today aware of the importance of apprenticeship training and its contribution to our economy?
Perhaps, an effective awareness programme should be conducted in different parts of the country to encourage our youth in this direction and give them guidance.
The Goods and Services Tax, which was to have been introduced this year may not see the light of day in 1996, we hear.
The Treasury boys are complaining of logistical difficulties and the bosses in the big bank are worried about double digit inflation.
The Professor who deputises is aware of all this and it will be his task to convince the lady, who, after all, is the Minister, that the tax should be introduced with the next budget, perhaps...
The charter for the workers is facing heavy resistance from the private sector, they say.
Several corporate blue chips have already made representations to the powers that be that the charter could be disastrous for foreign investment if the workers resort to abusing it.
If the charter cannot be abandoned, they say, it must at least be diluted but the man in charge of the labouring masses is insisting on approving the charter as it is....
One cellular network recently offered a discount package for the Sinhala New Year which insiders say was motivated by expectations that rival networks too would offer similar packages.
But such rival offers never materialised and the network is now counting rupees and cents to see whether the exercise was worth the publicity expenses.
Not a smart option, what?
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