SLANSHEI and SLASSCOM engage in strategic partnership to boost IT/BPM industry capacity

The Sri Lankan Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) announces the signing of a strategic partnership with the Sri Lanka Association of Non-State Higher Education Institutes (SLANSHEI), the umbrella organisation formed through the initiation of seven leading private educational bodies addressing the needs of the non-state higher education sector in the country.

The signing ceremony took place recently by SLASSCOM Vice-Chairman Channa Manoharan and SLANSHEI President/CINEC Vice President Prof. Capt. Nalaka Jayakody. The event was witnessed by representatives from SLANSHEI including Prof. Colin N. Peiris, Secretary – SLANSHEI/ Director, Academic Development and QA SLIIT, Prof. S.J.B.A. Jayasekara, Vice-Chancellor - Horizon Campus, Major General (Retd.) Milinda Peiris, Treasurer – SLANSHEI and CEO – Saegis Campus, Dr. Nihal De Silva, Dean/Co-Founder of IIHS, and Aamina Faleel, Executive – SLANSHEI/ Academic Coordinator, SLIIT. SLASSCOM was represented by Haridhu Abeygoonaratne – Board Member and Head of Regional Development, Chrishan de Mel, Executive Director and Didula Perera – Associate Manager.

Speaking at the event, Channa Manoharan commented, “Higher education providers are one of SLASSCOM’s primary stakeholders and we are pleased to have this agreement in place following many discussions. We want to work in collaboration with the educational bodies that offer IT qualifications and provide feedback on the syllabus and curriculum. This will enable them to provide IT graduates with the desired set of skills and competencies required by the industry. We hope that this will benefit the entire IT industry in the future in addressing both capacity and skills. This is timely in the context where we need to have 15,000 graduates entering the industry to meet our annual demand, and reach the industry goal of $ 5 billion by 2022.”

Prof. Capt. Nalaka Jayakody stated, “It is with much hope and expectation that we enter into this landmark partnership with SLASSCOM, with the aim of creating synergy between education, employment and employability and thereby help the students of our institutions to have access to gainful employment opportunities. The partnership will also offer a platform to the graduates to become employable by undergoing apprenticeships and acquiring practical skills of doing a job which will also address the need of the industry to have skilled people. By combining our strengths and by deepening our collaboration, we are looking forward to develop a strong, long-lasting relationship with SLASSCOM.”

SLANSHEI established with the overall mission of working for the betterment of higher education in Sri Lanka and providing wide ranging, relevant and quality education opportunities to a broader cross section of the Sri Lankan society, is the only association in the country, solely focused on representing private (non-state) higher education sector to the Higher Education Ministry. Together with its 11 members, SLANSHEI is working towards to promote Sri Lanka’s academic programmes in overseas markets with a view to branding Sri Lanka as a destination for quality higher education and thereby building Sri Lanka’s image as a knowledge hub.

SLASSCOM acts as the catalyst of growth of the Sri Lankan Knowledge and Innovation industry by facilitating trade and business, propagation of education and employment, encouragement of research and innovation, and by supporting the creation of a progressive national policy framework for the knowledge solutions industry. Furthermore, SLASSCOM continuously engages with its future workforce via its outreach activities in schools and universities across Sri Lanka. In July 2018, SLASSCOM hosted the Galle IT/BPM Week where over 2,500 students were given exposure to the opportunities within the ICT industry.

Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM industry is recognised as a thrust industry within the National Export Strategy (NES) as is promoted globally as the ‘Island of Ingenuity’ for world-class knowledge solutions. The industry goal is to reach $ 5 billion by 2022, powered by 200,000 skilled jobs in the industry, along with a thriving ecosystem for startup companies.