Sri Lankan wins Bajaj World Skill Contest 2016

Moditha Taroshan Paranavithana of M.J. Motors, Dikkumubura, Service Dealer for David Pieris Motor Company Limited (DPMC) beat 19 contestants from 10 countries across three continents to be crowned winner of the ‘Bajaj World Skill Contest 2016’.  

The competition was conducted by Bajaj Auto Ltd. India for motorcycle technicians from their international distributors’ dealer network. The objective was to recognise and reward the skills of technicians who service and repair Bajaj motorcycles globally. Twenty contestants from Argentina, Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Uganda demonstrated their skills and knowledge through a written test, viva and a practical challenge. 

The two participants who represented Sri Lanka at the World Skill Contest were selected by DPMC through a stringent evaluation process of over 2,000 technicians working in the company’s 546 motorcycle service dealers located island-wide.   

The contest was conducted on 30 and 31 March at Bajaj Auto Ltd.’s oldest plant in Akurdi, Pune which now houses their state-of-the-art Research and Development Centre aptly named ‘Ahead’. Moditha was confident throughout the contest, doing well at the written test, viva as well as the practical test which included diagnosis and trouble-shooting, but confessed he was a little nervous just before the winners were announced at a gala award ceremony. 

Recalling the honour of collecting the winning trophy from Rakesh Sharma, President of International Business, Bajaj Auto Ltd., he said: “I was happy I could do my country proud.”

DPMC maintains the largest dealer network in Sri Lanka’s automotive industry and strives to provide a superior after sales service to its customers by constantly upgrading the knowledge and skills of both its staff and dealers. Regular training programs are conducted at the company’s dedicated technical training center at Bandaragama while the dealer network is closely monitored to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.