NVQ Qualified Army Personnel Awarded Certificates & Schols to Army Children

The final certificate-awarding ceremony for 30 Army personnel who successfully qualified in the internationally-recognized National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 4 and 3 after following different technical courses at the Ranaviru Resource Centre (RRC) took place this afternoon (27) at the Army Headquarters during a simple ceremony.

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army adding importance to the achievements joined the awarding ceremony as the Chief Guest which also saw distribution of scholarships to clever children of Army families.

Brigadier S.C Ekanayake RSP, Director, Directorate of Rehabilitation and Brigadier R.P.A.R.P Rajapaksa RSP, Director, Directorate of Welfare jointly welcomed the day’s Chief Guest, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army on his arrival at the premises.

The gathering at first watched a video clip that gave a glimpse of what the Army-run RRC at Hekiththa has been performing with conduct of multiple technical courses, inclusive of Landscaping Technician Course, Mobile Phone Repairer Course, Carpentry (Building) Course, Computer Application Assistant Course, Electronic Appliances Technician Course, Aluminum Fabrication Course, Computer Hardware Course, Hair And Beautician Course and the Three-wheeler and Motorbike Repairing Course.

Soon after the introductory briefing, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army, together with Major General C.D Weerasuriya RWP RSP ndu, Chief of Staff of the Army, and Dr K.A Lalithadeera, Director General, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) of Sri Lanka began awarding certificates to the group of 30 Army personnel who reached the NVQ Level 4 and 3 qualifications to match with desired technical standards.

The RRC was established in 2013 in collaboration with the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka (VTA) to further enhance technically-required professional qualifications of differently able Army personnel on service, potential retirees of the Armed Forces, retired Army, Navy, Air Force, Police and Civil Security Department personnel and those seeking to qualify in alternative trades.

The lectures at RRC are conducted by well-qualified instructors of the VTA covering both theoretical and practical aspects. All the qualifying examinations and assessments are held and examined by the TVEC of the Department of Education.

Since 2013, 1963 Officers and Other Ranks of the tri forces, Sri Lanka Police and the Civil Security Department have successfully followed those courses and have received the NVQ Level 3 and 4 qualifications that could even facilitate their foreign assignments.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Welfare at the Army Headquarters concurrently awarded scholarships to children of Army families who performed well in the recent G.C.E Advanced Level Examinations with the aim of supporting their continued university and higher education. The State Mortgage and Investment Bank, Dialog Axiata together with the Directorate of Welfare at the Army Headquarters extended their sponsorship for the project.

Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Commander of the Army, together with Major General C.D Weerasuriya RWP RSP ndu, Chief of Staff of the Army awarded 8 scholarships, each worth Rs. 120,000.00 for a period of one year. In addition, award of smartphones that could help studies took place during the same programme, sponsored by Dialog Axiata. 23 students have been chosen for receipt of smartphones and the occasion symbolically gave away 5 of them to deserving students of Army families.

Towards the culmination of the proceedings, the Commander of the Army presented appreciative mementoes to Dr K.A Lalithadeera, Director General, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) of Sri Lanka and Mr L.I Ranasinghe, Deputy General Manager Credit, State Mortgage and Investment Bank.

Finally, Brigadier D.C.C.C.R Waidyasekara RSP Commandant, RRC presented a memento to the Commander of the Army appreciative of the guidance being given to the RRC all the time.

Senior Officers, Officers and Other Ranks, beneficiaries, representatives from Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka and State Mortgage and Investment Bank were present at the ceremony.