SriLankan Airlines and SLIM tie up to take airline marketing forward

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

The International Aviation Academy (IAA), the training arm of SriLankan Airlines, is partnering with the Sri Lankan Institute of Marketing (SLIM) to promote the Advanced Certificate in Airline Marketing.

Targeting the staff attached to travel agencies and tour operators, as well as front line, sales and marketing staff involved in the field of aviation, the advanced certificate will be facilitated by industry professionals and academia and will be conducted over a six month period.

On completing the course, qualified students will be eligible to complete the National Diploma in Sales Management, Diploma in Brand Management, or the Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing offered by SLIM. On successfully completing the diploma level, eligible students would be able move on to the Buckinghamshire New University UK MBA program, also offered by SLIM.

The IAA specialises in internal skill development training while also focusing on the training of professionals in the industry. SriLankan Airlines Group Head of Human Resources Pradeep Kekulawala explained that until last year, the IAA’s focus was on internal training and development activities.

“This resulted in industry training being taken over by various external organisations and individuals who were not adhering to certain standards and ultimately caused in the mushrooming of training organisations, spawning so called trained persons with little capabilities in reality,” he said.

Understanding that the ‘so-called’ skilled youngsters didn’t have what it takes to be a part of the aviation industry, the IAA decided to make a paradigm shift, embarking on high quality industry training, thus changing its direction to incorporate an external training dimension and to eventually become the market leader in industry related training.

Kekulawala further stated: “To add value to our endeavours, we join hands with SLIM to deliver focused training and coaching in the art of airline marketing and I am certain that the advanced certificate in marketing would play a catalytic role in moulding our youth to do things accurately in this arena.”

Speaking about the Advanced Certificate to be conducted by industry professionals and academia, SLIM President Tilan Wijeyesekera noted that the institute has recognised the potential in the industry, adding: “The travel and leisure sector is going to be the cog in the wheel of our nation’s development.”

Now that the two national giants have tied up, the two are confident that they would be able to harness the talent and potential of Sri Lankan youth with the right kind of exposure, expertise and encouragement, and together, will take the nation forward.

With the technological development of aircraft and revenue management reaching its peak, it was pointed out that future of the airline sector and its competitive environment would depend on the knowledge and skills of its human resources.

SriLankan Airlines Chief Marketing Officer G. T. Jayaseelan opined that soon, the marketing and airline industry will be heavily dependent on knowledge and customer management due to the prevailing complicated processes the airline industry has webbed over the years. The industry is in dire need of skilful marketers, however, the skills and knowledge required to survive in the industry is much higher.

Identifying that the airline industry has two purposes – to uplift the standard of professionalism and help individuals to pursue their career in aviation through training and skills development, Jayaseelan said: “I am proud that SriLankan and SLIM have joined hands to develop and address the needs of the industry and I would like to call on my colleagues from the travel industry to make use of this opportunity to advance the skills and the knowledge of our employees.”

Recognising travel and tourism as a booming sector for the future of the nation, the Advanced Diploma in Airline Marketing, the brainchild of IAA Manager Buddhika Hewawasam, was launched to address the need for high skilled marketing professionals in the industry.

SriLankan Airlines requires skilled sales and marketing personnel, and SLIM has taken over the responsibility, with agenda to expand the portfolio of marketing intelligence throughout the nation. The partnership between the two national bodies is a historical and pioneering moment for both, as together, they will offer a valid program which will synergise the practical aspects of airline marketing and the theoretical aspects of general marketing itself while inviting the youngsters of the nation to enter into a lucrative career of airline marketing.

Witnessing yet another milestone, Hewawasam acknowledged that Sri Lanka being developing country that is on the fast-track, Sri Lanka’s national agenda of being an educational hub advances with such attempts.