TAASL and IATA partner to develop HR in aviation

By Cheranka Mendis

With the anticipated growth of the country’s tourism sector, the need to develop suitable human capital in the aviation industry is becoming a key priority in the sector.

Aspiring to become the one and only recognised and accredited industry training facility in South Asia, International Aviation Academy (IAA) will work on partnering with the likes of Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL) and other bodies to train and facilitate those dealing with human capital in the industry.

Speaking at the Graduation Ceremony of the TAASL Training Programme conducted by IAA to strengthen the human resources in the industry, SriLankan Airlines Head of HR Pradeepa Kekulawala stated that building application knowledge among HR professionals in the industry was key for future growth.

“IAA was recently ranked among the top 10 training partners in South Asia in 2012 by IATA,” he said. “It is evident from the accolade that we do not just produce numbers but provide high quality skilled workers for the industry.”

IAA Development Manager Buddhika Hewawasam stated that more people within the industry would be trained under the partnership of TAASL and IAA according to a two-year agreement. The agreement is likely to be extended at the end of the period, he said.

He also noted that the institute was on an aggressive campaign to promote aviation on par with more established professions such as accountants, doctors among the rural community of the country. “To become the aviation hub as anticipated in the plans, we must develop the human capital in the industry. This is of vital importance to the industry as well as the country on a whole.”

TAASL President S. Paramanathan stated that the association was now in discussions with IAA to provide training and courses at a concessional rate for the industry. The association is also in talks with SriLankan Airlines to conduct classes in Colombo in the future as opposed to training in Katunayake.

The Graduation Ceremony held last week marked the first batch of the TAASL-IATA partnership to promote better HR practices within the industry. The training was held at SriLankan Training Centre in Katunayake, touching on key topics as team building, customer service, airline geography and airplane services among others, to impart comprehensive learning experience to the students.