Brandix and CINEC launch BCCE – a new facility to enhance employee training
Inspired Solutions provider Brandix, with an employee base of 60,000 globally, has embarked on a milestone collaboration with the Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College (CINEC) to launch the Brandix – CINEC Centre of Excellence (BCCE), a facility to train and inspire the Group’s workforce.
Located within the Malabe CINEC Campus, the Brandix – CINEC Centre of Excellence will facilitate joint training programmes and research for the Apparel sector, following the recent signing of an agreement between the Brandix Group and CINEC, one of the largest non-state sector higher education institutions in Sri Lanka. The BCCE will initially cater to the Associates and Supervisory grade employees of Brandix, offering programmes covering technical topics and behavioural aspects as part of the curriculum at a later stage.
The signing of the agreement between Mr. Ishan Dantanarayana, Chief People Officer of the Brandix Group and Prof. Nalaka Jayakody, Vice President of the CINEC Campus in the presence of Capt. Ajith Peiris, Chairman/ Managing Director of CINEC was followed by the induction of the first batch of trainees for the inaugural programme designed for the Garment Technician position. The event was attended by participants and family members as well as Brandix management teams and CINEC officials.
“The focus of this initiative is to shape well-rounded individuals, following through on our commitment to create and foster inspired people,” Mr. Dantanarayana said, commenting at the launch of BCCE. “We want to unleash the technical and leadership potential of our people through a carefully curated, comprehensive learning and development process in collaboration with CINEC to create the next layer of talent to take the industry on an inspired journey.”
The learning received at BCCE will be further enhanced with the support and guidance of the Vocational Technical Authority of Sri Lanka (VTA) to align the programme content with that of the nationally-accepted NVQ qualification equivalent to a Diploma, he additionally disclosed.
Senior Consultant of CINEC Campus, Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe addressing the trainees emphasized the importance of being competent in the chosen vocation through knowledge and skills acquired through practical hands-on-training and personality development. He added that the Brandix – CINEC partnership will endeavour to achieve this objective through a collective effort.
Notably, the Brandix Group has also signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the VTA; one to create an NVQ Level 5 equivalent qualification for Garment Technicians – the first of that level in the Apparel industry, and the other to enable Brandix to identify and employ school leavers who have received a three-month training as Industrial Sewing Machine Operators at the VTA’s island-wide network of vocational training centres.
About CINEC:
The CINEC campus was established in 1990 with the vision of building a close working partnership with the industry, professional organisations and other stakeholders to serve in the best interest of its clients and customers. It caters to over 20,000 students, annually, who follow more than 185 study and training programmes, all leading to highly sought-after opportunities of employment in the fields of Maritime, Engineering, Information Technology, Logistics and Transportation, Aviation, Law, English, Hospitality & Vocational Training. CINEC also manages National Maritime Training Institutions of The Republic of Fiji and Seychelles earning international recognition.
About Brandix:
Ranked Sri Lanka’s Most Valuable Corporate Export Brand in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Brand Finance, Brandix is the country’s single largest Apparel exporter, and has been named ‘Sri Lanka’s Exporter of the Year’ by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) for the past three years. The Group is the highest employment provider in the country’s Export industry according to the EDB, and operates 34 manufacturing units in Sri Lanka, India (a 1000-acre self-sufficient industrial park) and Bangladesh, with operations in Haiti, Cambodia and UK. Further, the company has secured a Gold Medal and the award for ‘Best Training & Talent Development’ for Sri Lanka, in addition to being presented the South Asia HR Excellence award by SHRM, the world’s largest HR organization.