News

Swiss help to develop skills in hospitality trade here

Published

4 years ago

2022/12/25

The Swiss government has come forward to assist Lankans to develop and sharpen their skills in the hospitality and tourism industry.Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Dr. D. Furgler recently signed an agreement with the Swiss Hospitality & Management Academy (SHMA) of A. Baur & Co. Pvt Ltd. also known as Baurs at a ceremony held at the Swiss Embassy in Colombo to uplift the hospitality education sector in Sri Lanka.

The contract exchange for a private and public sector partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) took place between Baurs MD and CEO Rolf Blaser and Ambassador Dr Furgler, said a media release.

It said: The Skills for Sustainable Growth (SSG) initiative came about during the height of the pandemic and has seen tremendous participation from both Baurs and SDC. At a time when the hospitality and tourism industry came to a standstill with increasing talent migration, Rolf Blaser discovered the Switzerland-based RIESCO program and quickly felt fervent about it being a practical and immediate solution in addressing the widening skills gap.

At the end of last year, officials from Baurs held a briefing with the Swiss Ambassador and introduced SHMA and the various solutions from an educational standpoint. With further discussions earlier this year, Baurs proposed a collaboration opportunity with SDC to localize and implement the RIESCO program in the country.

Bringing Switzerland’s distinctive reputation and quality standards in hospitality education which is one of the best in the world to Sri Lanka is a timely and ideal solution to the country’s tourism and hospitality sector, where hundreds of thousands of livelihoods depend upon, in the backdrop of various ongoing challenges, and eventually contribute immensely to the overall economy, ensuring that a quality pool of talented and employable professionals are created especially among the youth in the rural areas. This will with no doubt minimize the industry’s skills gap, take off the burden on the state, and go on to uplifting the country as a whole

Designed by Hotel & Gastro Formation, the RIESCO program is aimed at migrants entering Switzerland, who are heavily reliant on the state welfare system. The program methodology and content ensure that one completes the program in the shortest possible time and acquires the necessary skills that are highly employable, translating them into active participants in the hospitality sector and economy.

SHMA plans to sustain this program through an advanced digitalization platform, working with both the public and private sector. Coming under the SSG initiative, this will bring about immense benefits to the learners and country as a whole, in contrast to lengthy and conventional hospitality education programs in Sri Lanka.

By aligning and implementing a Swiss Vocational Skills Development (VSD) curriculum in hospitality management, SHMA will enhance local curriculums throughout the numerous learning centers island-wide. Through its train the trainer programs, SHMA will go onto further strengthen impactful teaching methodologies.

The SSG program aims to create 2,240 skilled young men and women within three years, with the first batch of student intake of 240 scheduled to take place during July 2023, followed by training 800 students in 2024 and 1,200 students in 2025, including increasing female representation to 40pct from the current industry levels exhibiting below 10pct. This will cover core hospitality operations and soft skills development including hospitality English, grooming and etiquette, and basic IT skills.

The districts will include Jaffna, Trincomalee, Ampara, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Kandy, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Rathnapura, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura, and Hambantota among others, with a drive to also identify potential learning centres within the districts.

The certificate program runs for 9 months, with the first six months consisting of 70pct practical classroom learning and 30pct theoretical knowledge, and thereafter take up a 3-month internship with possible extension to 6 months. Baurs has already partnered with many hotels in facilitating these internships, with more joining on-board. The program will pursue a hybrid teaching model where a SHMA faculty member will be placed at each learning centre for 6 months upon implementation, ensuring that it’s well absorbed and in line with the standards and frameworks of the learning curriculum.

The SSG program will play a key role in minimizing the skills gap and enhancing the quality of education through increased female participation, competent talent pool, quality standards in par with global trends, and making Sri Lanka among the best tourist destinations. The inclusion of females and returning workers is a main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of this project, to increase equal employment opportunities and ensure correct and safe employment channels and migration paths.

The SSG hospitality certificate provides a steppingstone towards enrolling for Professional Diploma programs facilitated by SHMA and awarded by École hôtelière de Lausanne EHL, world’s number one hotel management school. SHMA provides world class education through its VET by EHL Professional Diploma programme, available in Culinary, Food & Beverage and Hotel Operations, with the next intake taking place in February and March 2023.

All News Advertisement

News

Namal, Janaki further remanded

Published

4 hours ago

2026/10/17

Thilina Walpola

SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa and former Krrish Group Executive Director and businesswoman Janaki Siriwardena were further remanded until October 23 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with an alleged Rs. 70 million bribery case involving the Krrish Group.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama rejected the bail application filed on behalf of Siriwardena.

The Magistrate said the order on Namal Rajapaksa’s bail application was not ready and would be delivered on the next court date.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) arrested the two suspects and produced them before court over allegations that a bribe of Rs. 70 million had been solicited and accepted in connection with the affairs of the Krrish Group.

News

Review of progress in reforms and modernisation of key state revenue-collecting institutions

Published

15 hours ago

2026/10/17

Priyan

A progress review meeting on reforms and modernisation initiatives at Sri Lanka’s key state revenue-collecting institutions was held on Thursday (15) at the Presidential Secretariat, chaired by Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, with the participation of representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and officials of the Revenue Administration, Reform and Modernisation Bureau (RARMB) of the Presidential Secretariat.

At the meeting, the IMF representatives commended the revenue collection efficiency of the Department of Inland Revenue, Sri Lanka Customs and the Department of Excise, the country’s three leading state revenue-collecting institutions. Extensive discussions were also held on the progress of the reform and modernisation programmes being implemented at these institutions.

Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake outlined the progress achieved by the three institutions to date and the reforms planned for implementation in the future.

The IMF representatives also highlighted the importance of strengthening risk management, developing human resources and ensuring the efficient operation of computer systems at the respective institutions.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President Seevali Arukgoda also attended the meeting. The IMF was represented by Cindy Negus, Senior Economist in Revenue Administration for the Asia and Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia regions; Alison Lister, Revenue Administration Adviser; and Gregory Toppin, Resident Revenue Adviser in Sri Lanka. A group of senior officials from the Revenue Administration, Reform and Modernisation Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat also participated.

(President’s Media Division)

News

Cut power bills by 3-5%, don’t hike them, consumers demand

Published

21 hours ago

2026/10/17

Thilina Walpola

By Anuradha Hiripitiyage

Electricity tariffs should be reduced by between 3 and 5 percent instead of being increased by 2.88 percent in the fourth quarter, as proposed by the National System Operator (NSO), Electricity Consumers’ Association Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said.

Addressing a media briefing in Maradagahamula, Divulapitiya, Gampaha, yesterday (16), Dhammika said a proper assessment of electricity generation costs, including the contribution of hydropower, could justify a reduction in tariffs.

He said the NSO had sought approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) for a 2.88 percent tariff increase, which was expected to generate an additional Rs. 4,438 million.

However, the Commission had indicated that an increase of only 1.46 percent was warranted, amounting to Rs. 2,245 million, he said, adding that even this increase was unnecessary.

Dhammika alleged that the proposed revision sought to pass on to electricity consumers the financial burden arising from the non-arrival of five coal shipments and failed tenders.

“The Government had said that the burden of coal-related losses would not be passed on to the public. It is therefore unjust to make consumers bear these costs,” he said.

He pointed out that the PUCSL had forecast that hydropower would account for 32.34 percent of total electricity generation in the coming quarter, while the cost of such generation would represent only 3.45 percent of the overall cost of electricity production.

Consumers should benefit from the lower cost of hydropower generation rather than bear the burden of more expensive thermal power generation, he said.

Dhammika also questioned the inclusion of Rs. 669 million in capacity charges that had not been approved by the PUCSL, as well as a further Rs. 1,069 million to repay loans relating to incomplete projects.

Including such charges in the proposed tariff revision was unjustifiable, he said.

The PUCSL has given the public until October 30 to submit their views on the proposed tariff revision.

Dhammika said the possibility of increased hydropower generation in the coming weeks, as reservoir levels rise, should also be taken into account when determining electricity tariffs.

He maintained that tariffs could be reduced by 3 to 5 percent if hydropower generation was properly assessed and coal-related losses and unapproved charges were excluded from the calculations.

He further claimed that electricity tariffs could be reduced by as much as 10 percent through the promotion of renewable energy and the effective use of solar power and battery storage systems.

The Electricity Consumers’ Association urged the Government to withdraw the proposed tariff increase, insisting that consumers should not be made to bear costs arising from coal supply problems and other disputed charges.