National Youth Brigade achieves great heights
Shalini Maneesha Dodamgoda -Media Co-ordinator,
National Youth Brigade
In 2002, the National Youth Services Council changed its usual course
to cater to the youth by establishing the Youth Brigade in terms of the
Parliamentary of Act No 21 of 2002.
Youth undergoing training as part of the National Youth Brigade
programme. |
The Youth Brigade was subsequently activated through the Youth
Brigade Regulations No 01-2003 published in he Gazette No 1399/17 of
October 10, 2003. Thereafter the youth undergoing training were
designated as 'Rangers' and the first training programme was started
through four Ranger Leadership Training Centres.
Since the start of the second Training programme, the number of Youth
Brigade centres have now increased to 38.
Today youth have realized that the government had acted in a correct
and far sighted manner by setting up a single ministry for Youth Affairs
and Skills Development by incorporating Youth Affairs and Skills
Development.
This ministry which has 17 institutions under its purview is striving
to enable youth realize their dreams under the valuable concepts of
Minister Dallas Alahapperuma and Deputy Minister Duminda Dissanayake.
The National Youth Brigade has achieved great heights today due to
the indefatigable services rendered by its incumbent chairman Col.
Darshana Ratnayake.
The National Youth Brigade has today rallied youth in the, age group
of 16-28 including school leavers and university rejects and introduced
a learning procedure for them by setting up curriculum in collaboration
with the National Institute of Education(NIE) and the Colombo
University. This include spoken English, Sinhala and Tamil language
training, IT, personality development, vocational guidance,physical
training and sports.
After identifying the inborn talents and skills of youth undergoing
training they are directed to the Nawala Youth Brigade Centre to charter
their future. All youth successfully completing the youth Brigade
Training Course are awarded the NVQ stage II certificate which enables
them to seek employment.
This proves that the child who enters the national youth Brigade
emerges from it as a useful citizen with a sound personality and a sense
of discipline.
There is an increasing demand for Youth Brigade qualified youth in
the employment field today.
A large number of private sector firms in particular are looking for
NVQ qualified youth trained by the National Youth Brigade to offer
employment.
Already many such youth are employed in private institutions with
high salaries.
Last year youth who underwent training in hotelliering were absorbed
by several hotels even before they completed their training course.
The Youth Brigade Network is further extending its activities
throughout the country and the Augusta Estate centre opened in Kandy
recently is the newest addition to it.
Steps are underway to set up Youth Brigade centres in the North too
for the benefit of Tamil youth.
- Translated by D. P. Wickramasinghe
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