Rubber and plastics industry offers much scope for school leavers | Sunday Observer

Rubber and plastics industry offers much scope for school leavers

29 September, 2019

* Institute conducts weekend courses ranging from Certificate, Diploma Higher Diploma and Graduateship

* SL meets about 35 to 40 percent of world demand for industrial solid tyres

The Plastics and Rubber Institute of Sri Lanka has become an integral partner of the rubber and plastics industry by producing quality human resources that will upgrade standards.

“The Plastics and Rubber Institute has been working to improve the skills and quality of human resource for the past 59 years. It is the apex body of the industry in terms of educating the rubber and plastic industry employees. The institute’s efforts have contributed towards upscaling the capacities and capabilities of those employed in the industry,” President of the Plastics and Rubber Institute Kaushal Rajapaksa said.

“We conduct weekend courses ranging from Certificate, Diploma Higher Diploma and Graduateship. We also have another program called Earn while you Learn. Most of the Advanced Level students who do not get an opportunity to enter Universities select this path. They continue learning while they are absorbed into the industry after the end of four years with a degree level qualification. This enables them to go up in the career ladder as a trainee executive or a manager by joining a relevant company in the field,” he said. “We receive the fullest support of the Tertiary Vocational Education Centre and National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (Sri Lanka). Our courses are NVQ accredited. We are discussing with foreign universities including the University of Kochin for possible accreditation.

This is a better pathway for school leavers. We also conduct seminars and workshops related to technological innovations. We publish a technical journal and a quarterly newsletter. We have various industry related social activities including a cricket tournament and an annual family get-together. The Annual Awards Night of the Institute will be held on November 29, giving due recognition to the students who are successful at the examinations and those who have made outstanding contributions to the industry. We are doing a great service to the industry and have already signed an MoU with the Indian Rubber Institute and the Plastics and Rubber Institute of Malaysia for training and development

The Plastics and Rubber Institute works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Export Development Board to obtain financial support for its training and industry promotional activities up to date two workshops were conducted with sponsorship from the Export Development Board, with further plans to have plastics and latex workshops in the future. We have given opportunities for industry stakeholders to take part in exhibitions in India, Malaysia, South Africa, Taiwan and Kenya. The next exhibition will be in China in May 2020with the assistance of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce“We are in the process of setting up a Help Desk in the Institute with a panel of experts to handle industry queries. We have a membership of 500 including 100 patrons. The Corporate Office is situated at No: 341/12, Kotte Road, Rajagiriya.

“We are trying to develop an SME based data bank to see how best we could help them. There are three key requirements to develop our rubber industry namely, education, proper technology and well-equipped testing laboratory.

Sri Lanka meets about 35 to 40 percent of the world demand for industrial solid tyres and could be considered as the hub in the solid tyre industry. The revenue from rubber and plastic is growing amidst challenges such as land and labour shortages.

“We plan to contribute to improve the awareness on environmental conservation and protection by conducting awareness programs for schoolchildren, by teaming up with other organisations such as the Lions in Sri Lanka,” he said.

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