Aitken Spence supports national education and skills development

As an organization committed towards uplifting the society they operate within, Aitken Spence has always steered a clear strategy towards social development.   As part of an integrated sustainability plan, which spreads across the entire Group, the Company’s HR Division has included supporting the national education system, in their sustainability strategy.

Aitken Spence HR recently conducted two programmes for students and teachers in the Kaluthara and Colombo districts. One of many similar events planned for the near future, the aim of the programmes is to support the efforts made at a national level to improve skills shortages.

In the two separately held events, the Company’s HR team addressed the needs of students and teachers, taking into consideration the concerns of each group in an approachable and inspirational manner.

The first event, ‘Cross Roads 2011 Career Fair’, which was organized by the Old Boy’s Association of Holy Cross College Kaluthara, had a group of resource personnel from the Aitken Spence HR team – conducting two sessions on career guidance and the concept of Multiple Intelligence. Over 750 students ranging from the ages of 15 – 18 from a number of educational institutions around the Kaluthara district attended the fair, taking back with them valuable information and knowledge on planning out their future careers.

The main purpose of this event was to build awareness and to guide students in to going beyond the status quo in finding a career path that is in line with their proficiency and interests. The Aitken Spence HR team,who discussed the subject in detail, also talked about myths involved in career planning, self-assessment and introduced a 5 step career planning approach.

The second event on the agenda was the organising of an ‘inward bound’ programme for teachers of the  Holy Family Convent in Bambalapitiya on the 25th of October 2011.Hundred teachers participated in this event, which had many interesting outdoor activities, with a special focus on useful developmental concepts.  The programme was put together with the main aim of introducing techniques to improve the role of the educator by tailoring different approaches to suit specific situations such as facilitator, mentor and counsellor.

Through regular debriefings and discussions after each activity – the teachers were able to interact and swap stories, and each was able to learn from the experiences of their peers.

Apart from these two events, Aitken Spence HR has also conducted two special programmes on Career Guidance and Multiple Intelligence for G.C.E. A Level students of Mahamaya College, Kandy earlier this year.  The programmes were conducted at an event organised by the Old Girls Association of the school and was attended by approximately 400 students.

Aitken Spence also conducted a seminar on career guidance for the University of Colombo. The participants who numbered over 300 undergraduates, were from the University’s Faculty of Science.

The Aitken Spence HR Team who is taking every opportunity to assist initiatives that supplement the national education programme, have made plans to participate in several similar programmes that are lined up for the future.