Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association calls on new Tourism Minister

Minister of Tourism and Christian Affairs John Amaratunga met a team of office bearers of the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA) along with Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Chairman Paddy Withane and Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) Deputy Director General Prabodh Kulatunga at his office recently.

The primary focus of the discussion was the critical need to bridge the impending ‘skill level’ manpower shortage in the hotel industry and on how the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association could engage with the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management to bridge the gap in the ‘very near short-term’. To this end the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) has designed a one month ‘Skill Development’ crash course to commence in mid November in Colombo and at all regional locations of the SLITHM which will be rolled out on a ‘back to back’ basis, bi-monthly.

As an outcome of the discussions with the Minister, CHSGA decided to offer 200 scholarships to needy participants of the Skill Development crash courses, offered its members employed in the regions as support bases to the SLITHM and appointed Amal Nanayakkara to coordinate the initiative with SLITHM on behalf of CHSGA.

The CHSGA team was led by its President Sunil Dissanayake and comprised Past Presidents Palitha Wijemanne, Upul Gamage, S. Anandaraj, Trevine Gomez and Treasurer Priyal Perera.