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| Tuesday, 4 November 2003 |
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FCCISL delegation impressed with German Chamber system The German Chamber System could serve as a source of inspiration and ideas for the chamber movement in Sri Lanka. This is the result of a joint study tour of five of the leading business organisations of Sri Lanka conducted by the Chamber Development Project (CDP), a partnership between the Federation of Cambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and Germany's Handwerkskammer (HwK, Chamber of Skilled Crafts) Koblenz, from October 5 to 11. The initiative for the trip was from the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The Sri Lankan delegation consisted of Nihal Abeysekera, President of FCCISL, Nawaz Rajabdeen Senior Vice President of FCCISL, Samantha Abeywickrama, Secretary General of FCCISL, Malcolm Atton, Deputy Secretary General of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, A. Kandappah - Hony Secretary of The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, R. D. S. Kumararatne, Deputy Director of Commerce Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, A. K. Ratnarajah, Senior Vice President, The Ceylon National Chamber of Industries and Rasa Weerasingham, Executive Director of National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka. They had working visits at German chambers, sector organisations and apex bodies as well as government institutions in three different German states. Members of the delegation were impressed by the tight organisational structure of German businesses, covering practically every company and engaging in a large number of services to their members and the public. Especially interesting was the engagement of German chambers in vocational training, for which capital-intensive training centres were set up under the chambers. While accepting that Germany, an industrialised country may not be an optimum role-model for the more agrarian Sri Lanka, the delegates felt that they should pay more attention to training. FCCISL President Nihal Abeysekera said: "Especially important for Sri Lanka would be the introduction of something like the German Master Craftsman - somebody serving as a link between the workers and engineers level. Not only would we become more productive, but we could also offer an interesting career path to talented non-graduates". Intensive cooperation of Germany's leading business organisations who have recently set up common headquarters with a joint administrative structure in Berlin, inspired the Sri Lankan chamber representatives to look for more possibilities of cooperation in the future. As a first step, a concluding meeting of the delegation is to be conducted soon. |
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