SriLankan Airlines provides training for Ruhunu University undergraduates

SRILANKAN Airlines once again assisted the career development of undergraduates of the University of Ruhuna through its internship programme which honed the skills of 23 undergraduates over a six-month period.

SriLankan Airlines takes great pride in being one of the most socially responsible companies in the country. We firmly believe in leading from the front with respect to projects to uplift the community and the country, said Sunil Dissanayake, Head of Human Resources at SriLankan Airlines.

Twenty-two of the 23 undergraduates who participated in the programme have now secured employment in various state and private sector organizations, which is extremely gratifying to us since it is a measure of the effectiveness of SriLankans training, stated Ranjeewa Kulatunga, Manager - Human Resources Development and training at SriLankan.

The group spent their time being trained at various departments of SriLankan, and also underwent training in management and soft skills at the airlines Human Resource Development Centre in Katunayake by both internal and external trainers.

The skills included people management, leadership, business and social etiquette, how to face an interview, presentation skills, English speech and effective communication, and time management.

The programme was launched at the request of Dr. P. Hewage, Director of Career Guidance at the University. This is the second group from this university that SriLankan has trained, and a third programme is on the cards.

SriLankan is also involved with a training programme for undergraduates of the University of Colombo. The cost of these programmes is borne by the airline.

Participants were awarded certificates at a ceremony recently during which they provided role plays and presentations which highlighted the skills that they learned.

SriLankan Airlines also has its own charity arm, SriLankan Cares, which conducts a wide array of large and small community development projects.

These range from the adoption of Meepagama Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya in the Ratnapura district and a considerable investment to improve its facilities, to the distribution of 50,000 schoolbooks to 3,000 children from 14 rural schools in nine districts.

SriLankan Airlines has undertaken a project to reconstruct a school in the town of Kalmunai in the eastern Batticaloa district, which was devastated by the Tsunami. The project will see SriLankan Cares raising the considerable sum of Rs. 40 million through various fundraising efforts.

SriLankan has a nationwide presence with offices in Colombo, Katunayake, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla, Kurunegala, Badulla, Ratnapura, Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Matara.

The National Carrier has also built up a globally recognized reputation for excellence, and its recent accolades include "Best Airline" in the Central Asia / Subcontinent region for four consecutive years, "World's Friendliest Cabin Crew," First Runner-Up for "Worlds Best Cabin Staff," "Worlds Best Airline" in a survey of Economy class passengers, "Worlds Best In-flight Entertainment," and Best Airline Turnaround of the Year 2004.