SriLankan Airlines gives new skills to former staff

SriLankan Airlines have armed their ex-staff with a series of new skills to better adapt to their new careers outside the airline.

The airline's human resources division recently held two skills enhancement seminars for their ex-staff who accepted the voluntary retirement package last year after long years of service.

SriLankan shed about 1200 of its staff last year in two voluntary severance schemes (VSS) in a move to prune its approximately 4500 strong cadre.

With the shift in management practices after privatisation, new human resource concepts like multi-tasking staff were implemented successfully and the management made a decision to reduce staff to standardise the airline's aircraft to employee ratio.

Most of SriLankan's staff who took the VSS had worked for the airline in diverse fields for over 10 years and had been so acclimatised to the airline industry that their hunting skills for new jobs may have rusted over the years.

Managers in the airline's human resource division held two seminars for the VSS staff which included awareness on career and financial planning.

The seminars were conducted by the airline's HR managers with the assistance of external resource personnel. Manager Human Resources Development and Training Ranjeewa Kulatunga, Human Resource Development Centre Manager Shyamalie Jayasekera and Training Instructor Aruna Jayalath spearheaded the programmes.

Kulatunga said the most valuable aspect of training was that the participants discovered new skills in themselves. Training on guidance included how to write a CV, how to market oneself and get a new job.

The financial planning seminar was to inform ex-staff of the financial tools available in the market and how they could invest the funds they received from the airline in financial instruments like stocks, stock options, debentures, treasury bills etc.

"The company felt it was their responsibility to educate them on how to invest the money they got as an early retirement package," says Sunil Dissanayake, Head of Human Resources at SriLankan.

Ex-employees who attended the two seminars wanted to attend more seminars of this nature, which Kulatunga said they could organise depending on the demand.

Ruwanthi Ranasgalla who worked for nine and a half years says, "The career planning seminar was very useful. We learned how to write a CV, how to face and interview and certain computer skills."

Nirmali Gerard who also worked for the airline for nine years said, " It was very helpful and the person who conducted it did it really well."