3M helps develop ICT industry through education

Friday, 4 April 2014 00:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The 3M Volition Enterprise Network Solutions team of 3M Sri Lanka, the fully-owned local subsidiary of the $ 30.8 billion global innovation giant, 3M Company, recently organised workshops to certify participants as Volition Certified Installers (VCI) and Volition Installation Professionals (VIP). These free workshops, which have been condensed to an intense nine-hour program, were recently concluded in Colombo and Batticaloa. They were organised to educate the ICT industry professionals on key areas and is part of 3M’s mission to help raise industry standards and improve the IT infrastructure of the country.

The training was carried out by experts in the field through demonstrations and presentations. Amongst the participants were 15 IT engineers from the Ceylon Electricity Board and 15 more are expected to join other workshops in the coming months. The company fully expects to penetrate other government sectors, which is in line with their aim to raise the industry benchmark for products. “We have been doing this for the past 10 years and have certified over 1,000 participants as either VCIs or VIPs. Our strategy has always been to develop the talent of all our participants which in turn will create an opportunity for their business partners and customers to reap the benefits. And when customer standards and industry standards improve the entire economic and IT growth of the country is positively affected,” said Derrick Ferdinandus, Sales Manager at 3M Sri Lanka, Electronics and Energy Business Group. This year 3M will expand the reach of their efforts by increasing the number of workshops they conduct to over 20 across the island. These workshops will conduct both programs. The VCI program is aimed at helping installers develop their skills through new global methods and solutions. Once certified each installer can then certify projects with a 25 year performance warranty on any installation site. The VIP program is designed to help marketers understand the intricate details and key technical features of the product thus allowing them to better market it to the public and businesses. All participants that become certified will

then be able to rely on the wealth of knowledge 3M offers as well as its global support structure and technical innovation. “These programs not only improve the ICT industry in Sri Lanka but also help improve the lives of those people in the industry. We need more of them. And as our country finally takes its place on the world stage we need international companies like 3M to help foster and educate the raw talent,” said Sudath Amarasinghe, the Vice President of the Federation of Information Technology – Hardware Chapter and the director of Star Computer Ltd., as he attended a recent workshop. In addition to these programs 3M will hold a separate event for their Key Opinion Leader (KOL) program. This program will host industry leaders as they discuss current and future trends in the industry. The program has been specifically designed for CEOs, CIOs, IT directors and heads in both private and public sector organisations. This is the second time 3M is hosting the event which saw 50 key opinion leaders participate last year.