In post war rebuilding:

NDT diploma holders will play key role - Minister Bathiudeen

At least three of the current Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers have passed out from the National Diploma in Technology (NDT) institute at Moratuwa. And the NDT diploma holders will be playing a key role in rebuilding the country in the aftermath of the war, said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen on March 26.

The Minister was addressing the first Annual General Meeting of the NDT Alumni held in Colombo. The Minister himself is a past diplomate of the NDT. The NDT is now awarded through the Institute of Technology University of Moratuwa (ITUM). The NDT diploma holders are the link between the engineers and skilled workers in Civil Engineering.

“I am proud to belong to the NDT collective myself, graduating in the ‘92-93 batch of Civil Engineering. As I read this, many fond memories of my NDT days are flooding back, but too many to choose to mention here. The NDT diploma holders are the link between the engineers and skilled workers in Civil Engineering. The NDT program intends to produce personnel with required technological competencies to be employed in the Civil Engineering industry. Today, the total Moratuwa NDT diploma holders number exceeds 10,000,” he said.

Minister Bathiudeen said “The NDT diploma holders will be playing a key role in rebuilding our country in the aftermath of the three decades of war. In fact, the post war era opens up a new challenge on the professional front that is, to upgrade the engineers’ skills even further and become ‘entrepreneurial engineers of the future’, in par with latest technological developments. When it comes to the role of NDT diploma holders in our country, I am delighted that at least three of our current Cabinet Ministers are from NDT.

“Our senior NDT colleagues need to lead the way by encouraging younger colleagues to learn from modern innovations and become real practitioners of merit. Therefore we need to subscribe to as many international professional institutions which will enhance our recognition.

To this end, we must ensure that the proposed Engineering Council will have sufficient and balanced NDT representation. I also encourage young NDT diploma holders towards continuous professional development so that their career prospects are ensured. We also should scan for overseas employment opportunities and this need to be secured as a collective group. Some of our diploma holders are now successfully employed in Middle Eastern countries, New Zealand, Australia and even Canada,” he said.