“Without CIPM, I would not be who I am today”

Gamma Pizzakraft Lanka Director – Operations Chinthaka Mahesh

CIPM is an organisation with ideal standards in Training and Developing Human Resources. Its DTHRD course plays an unmatched and indispensable role in idealising personnel in management systems, said one of the bright students of CIPM, Chinthaka Mahesh, who is today a leading personality holding a key position in the private sector and aspiring to lead himself along the path to a doctorate. Following are excerpts of an interview with Mahesh.

By Udeni Thilakarathne

Q: Please describe your background and experience.

A: I am the Director – Operations at Gamma Pizzakraft Lanka Ltd., the sole franchisee for Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Sri Lanka, and Pizza Hut and KFC Maldives. I am responsible for operating 121 restaurants in both countries and of the biggest and busiest call centres in the country, managing about 3,000 people in the team. I must say that the key to success in this role is the ability to manage smaller teams by placing trust in them, empowering and enabling them to deliver the best. Coaching and supporting the team play a bigger role in managing people.

My experience has been mainly in Sales, Sales Capability Development, Market Insights, Operational Planning and distribution at Heineken Lanka Ltd. and Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC.

I hold Masters of Business Administration Degree from Birmingham City University, UK. I am reading for a doctorate at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Q: How did you hear about CIPM?

A: CIPM (formerly known as IPM) was introduced to me by my wife, a trainer at SriLankan Airlines. Of course, I had heard of it before through many colleagues. However, my interest in CIPM started with the induction to Diploma in Training and Human Resource Development (DTHRD). I learned about this when I was the Sales Training Manager at Heineken Lanka Limited, and I was searching for an excellent professional platform to sharpen my skills related to Training and Development. 

Q: Why did you choose CIPM as your learning partner?

A: After evaluating other qualifications available in the market, I found several reasons to choose DTHRD. One of the main reasons was the faculty experience in Training and Development industry. Some well-known trainers had corporate backgrounds. I thought they would be able to better relate the theories with practicalities. Furthermore, the program design convinced me that its structure covers the essentials of being a training and development professional with a good understanding of Human Resources Management. Finally, the trust earned by CIPM as a leader in Human Resource Management and development made me choose CIPM as my learning partner. Training and developing people is a specialised skill requiring specific competencies to be effective and successful. The CIPM, DTHRD is the ideal programme to support working professionals who wish to specialise in People Development while helping the growing need for competent, qualified, fully trained professionals.

Q: Describe your journey at CIPM.

A: Well, It was a great year with CIPM. The program was full of practical sessions supported by relevant theoretical knowledge. We had 20 people in our batch, representing various fields. Everyone had one dream, to be a good trainer. And the sessions we had with experienced lecturers with multiple teaching styles were very helpful when crafting ourselves as good trainers. It was a time full of new learnings. 

Q: What is DTHRD?

A: This program aims at developing managers in Training and Human Resources Development. It covers the techniques and science behind adult training (Andragogy) and its application in an organisational context. Furthermore, this covers the basics of Human Resource Management, which helps a non-HR professional like me to understand and be competent in Human Resource Management. The CIPM DTHRD course is ideally suited for professionals in any industry or function who want to specialise in the Training and Human Resource Development and the Human Resource Management sphere, two distinct areas of specialisation, each with its own professional and functional competency. 

Providing competency development opportunities of this nature for an organisation’s employees is a talent that requires a set of unique professional competencies that are acquirable through proper learning and guidance. CIPM’s DTHRD Program has been carefully designed and structured by CIPM’s experts in the human resource development field, taking into consideration the significance of people development and training for organisations.

Q: How did it influence your career?

A: I was able to sharpen my training delivery skills with the support of this program. And it helped me deliver better as the Sales Training Manager at Heineken Lanka Limited. Furthermore, it helped me look at the training and development function from the overall business point of view with a good understanding of HR. It helped me understand how the training and development function needs to be aligned vertically and horizontally when delivering the organisational strategy. 

Most of all, I started believing that “Every manager is an HR manager, and he/she has a bigger role to play in developing the biggest resource in the company, the Human Resources.” 

Q: What differentiates CIPM DTHRD from other HR qualifications?

A: The simple fact differentiating DTHRD is that it provides a more practical approach to Human Resource Management by highlighting the science and its importance behind training and development. Knowing the art of developing talent is much more helpful than mastering the traditional bureaucratic processes. We all need to understand the learning agility of our workforce, which is essential in this rapidly changing business environment.

Q: What are your plans?

A: Well, it is my anticipation to complete my doctorate. This relates to “Humanocracy” and its uses when developing sustainable competitive advantage in modern-day organisations. One of the key things is to nurture and educate a set of young professionals who love this country and can take my country to a far better place than it is now. With this in mind, I have started lecturing at CIPM and another private university. I love to pursue a path in learning and development, coaching and mentoring in a longer journey.

Q: What role did CIPM play in your career?

A: It helped me sharpen my knowledge in training and human resource development, and most of all, the network I built through CIPM is valuable in my corporate life. 

Q: Finally, what advice would you give aspiring youth contemplating their career path?

A: Follow your passion. Life will not throw opportunities at you every day. But grab them and make them work for you when you can. It needs hard work and dedication. Dream big! Very big! And pursue your happiness and success. You will never know what you can do until you try and do it.