Holcim Lanka and NAITA develop National Competency Standard for multi-skilling

10 April 2015 06:46 am

Holcim Lanka in partnership with National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) has developed a National Competency Standard (NCS) for the multi-skilled technician. 
National Competency standards are the skills a person must be able to demonstrate at work. The skills relevant to multi-skilling were defined by industry experts in Sri Lanka (including Holcim Lanka, Ceylon Steel Corporation, Road Development Authority, CIVIMECH (Pvt) Ltd., CBI Plastics (Pvt) Ltd, Ceylon German Technical Training Institute and Department of labor).  Then packaged into a combination of various qualifications aligned to the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) Framework.
The competency standards are used as benchmarks for vocational education, curriculum development, industry training and recognition, and the delivery and accreditation of training. 
The NCS development process was initiated at Holcim Lanka Puttalam plant, via several workshops with Holcim industry experts to develop the skills a multi-skilled technician should possess. Based on this, NAITA identified 12 resource personnel from industry to develop the competency standards and qualifications. Once the National Industry Training Advisory Committee (NITAC) validated the national competency standard and qualifications the competency standard submitted to TVEC for endorsement. 
Through this NVQ level 4 qualification, the students are exposed to hands on training on Electrical, Metal Fabrication, Machining, Pneumatics, Hydraulics and Electronics and one year on the job training. On completion of the certification and with one more year industrial experience, graduates are eligible to apply for NVQ level 5 qualification. 
This initiative will not only benefit businesses by providing flexibility in allocating labor tasks but also provide individuals a national competency standard as certified multi skilled technicians.