Mount Lavinia Hotel partners NDB Bank to train staff

Eastern Province students in first round:

Harshini Perera

The NDB Jeevana Livelihood Training/loan scheme will be implemented in the East and it is expected to expand to the Northern areas at the second stage with assistance from NDB Bank and Mount Lavinia Hotel’s International Hotel School.

The NDB Bank entered into an MOU with the International Hotel School of Mount Lavinia Hotel as the initial step towards implementing the ‘NDB Jeevana Livelihood Training/Loan Scheme’ with the vision of providing the required academic training for students in the North and East to follow a course in hotel operations conducted by the school.

Over 100 have applied for the program from eastern areas to which only 35 candidates will be selected, Mt. Lavinia Hotel Chairman/Managing Director Sanath Ukwatte told Daily News Business.

There is a high demand for the training program from the East. Majority of applications are from male applicants while a few females have also applied,” he said.

“The minimum requirement for applicants to participate in this program will be O/L qualifications and we welcome female candidates too. We need to train people from Trincomalee, Batticoloa and will continue this in North as well. It is expected to enrol 100 candidates for the second stage of this program. This training program will train them to secure a better job and a sound future,” Ukwatte said.

The trainees will be placed in the hotels which are in operations in these areas. Leading hotels in Trincomalee will be the partners in getting them the practical training.

“We can either bring them to hotels situated in Habarana or Sigiriya for training. If necessary we will be able to take them over to the Mt. Lavinia Hotel for training,” he said.

Through this project the hotel industry can have the required manpower to meet the growing demand in the immediate future.

The applicants can select their preferred areas in the hospitality industry and receive training. The loan scheme by NDB bank will provide them with financial assistance which they need to pay back after the six months training period.

This concept will be adopted by NDB Bank similarly for the motor mechanism, construction and nursing training in the future.

“Other corporates too will join hands with our industry and help us to accelerate the development of the tourism industry by investing in both human resource development and product development,” the Chairman said.