Hayleys Plantations set a new benchmark for the Sri Lankan plantation sector, as 80 of its Field Officers became the first-ever graduates of the company’s ground-breaking Technical Skills Development Programme (HPTDP- Tea and Rubber).
Harnessing decades of unmatched technical and practical knowledge retained within the organisation, the course was conducted primarily by veteran Estate and Deputy Estate Managers from Hayleys Plantations, together with respected academic leaders in the field from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, the Tea Research Institute and Rubber Research Institute.
“Especially in an environment of such great uncertainty, it is our knowledge and dedication to excellence that sets us apart. To ensure that we remain resilient, we must combine the latest best practices with Hayleys Plantations’ extensive experience and knowledge in harvesting and field operations. Developing this course led us to identify areas of improvement while also enhancing the collective knowledge of our workforce.
“Therefore, we take this opportunity to congratulate our inaugural graduating batch of Field Officers warmly and salute their outstanding dedication to the values that continue to make Hayleys Plantations one of the world’s most respected producers of the highest quality Ceylon tea and natural rubber,” Hayleys Plantations Managing Director, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai stated.
Conducted across 44 lectures for tea and 40 lectures for rubber, respectively, the Technical Skills Development internal certificate course was conducted at the Hayleys Plantations training centres in Hatton, Pedro and Dewalakanda. Curated by the Human Resources Division of Hayleys Plantations, the course effectively achieved all training and development KPIs of the company.
Meanwhile, the graduation ceremony was hosted under strict social distancing protocols at the Dambulla Athletic and Cricket Club in Radella with Senior Professor Buddhi Marambe from the Faculty of Agriculture, the University of Peradeniya as the Chief Guest. Dr. M. Wijerathne and Dr. MahasenRanatunge from TRI were Guests of Honour at the ceremony.
“The main objectives of the course were to enhance the technical knowledge of our Field Officers through the study of new scientifically researched processes while developing the skills of our managers in communication, presentation and industry research. We are proud to say we achieved a high training yield ratio with a recorded success rate of 98 per cent and a learner’s satisfaction rate of 93 per cent,” Kelani Valley Plantations General Manager – HR and Corporate Sustainability, Anuruddha Gamage, said.
Ranked as one of the worlds most respected and innovative plantation groups, Hayleys Plantations has continuously invested in employee upskilling. Over the recent past, 100 of the group’s Field Officers were also selected for the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) and the first-ever National Skills Passport (NSP) programme in the plantations industry.
Similarly, the company has consistently won local and global recognition for its pioneering approach to human resources management, including the first-ever Global HR Excellence Award, Asia-Pacific HR Excellence Awards for two consecutive years and the National HR Excellence and Great HR Practices Award for three years.
Hayleys Plantations also bagged an impressive four Gold Awards, four Silver Awards, four Bronze Awards and two Merit Awards at the Social Dialogue and Workplace Cooperation Awards organised by the Department of Labour. Hayleys Plantations subsidiaries, Kelani Valley Plantations PLC (KVPL), was especially honoured with a Gold Award in the Small-Scale Category – Service Sector, an impressive feat, as it was the first time the award was presented to a plantation company.
