Equipped to Face the Pandemic

by
Gaya Nagahawatta, Skills for Inclusive Growth
on
January 26, 2023

The Pandemic Preparedness Course was conducted with a focus on the tourism industry. Its aim was to ensure hospitality operators were well equipped to promote health and safety.

Supported by the Australian Aid program through Skills for Inclusive Growth (S4IG), a Pandemic Preparedness Course (PPC)was developed in conjunction with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). This course targeted small and medium enterprises (SMEs)in the hospitality sector.

The PPC launched in Colombo, in August 2020. A five-day residential training session was held in late August (in Pasikuda),with forty participants from the public and private sectors. The aim of the course was to train participants as instructors, who would then work with regional personnel to address COVID-19 challenges.

Participants appreciated the timeliness and value of the PPC, which they said equipped them with techniques and procedures for adapting to the “new normal”.


Just Two Shining Example

Prasanya Pakkiyaselvam

“People were panicking. They couldn’t close their shops, as they would then lose their income. Others were afraid about the illness. PPC helped me gain more knowledge. I learned how people were confronting COVID-19 internationally. I used the knowledge gained at the PPC to help communities understand and deal with the situation.”

Prasanya Pakkiyaselvam

Prasanya worked at the NGO Consortium (Batticaloa)as the District Coordinator and Trainer. With many years of experience as an instructor, she prepared a customized suite of course to address community concerns, based on what she had learnt while attending the PPC.

In total, Prasanya conducted five training programs over the course of October-November 2020 (142 participants, including 97 females):

  • Emergency Preparedness for Consortium Members,
  • Strengthening the Women’s FederationNetwork,
  • Community Awareness for Local Leaders (Mahamahalir sangam),
  • Emergency Preparedness and Threats for theLocal Farmer Community, and
  • Training for the District-Level Covid 19 Emergency Taskforce.

 

Philip Manuel

Currently the Project Coordinator for the BasicSkills Program in Tourism and Hospitality at the Chamber of Commerce andIndustry in Trincomalee District, Philip has over forty years of experience in the tourism and development sectors. After attending the PPC, Philip conducted several one-day training sessions on pandemic preparedness. Of the 65 people trained,18 were female, and one was a person with a disability.

A Great Outcome

Prasanya, Philip, and their communities in Batticaloa and Trincomalee, were strengthened by the PPC. As trainers, Prasanya and Philip assisted hospitality and tourism related stakeholders to adapt to and prepare for the challenges of the pandemic. Furthermore their training programs improved the ability of the regional communities to face the new health challenges.

Thanks to the PPC, the East is now prepared with specially trained and up skilled hotel staff, ready to safeguard the health of tourists, once the industry starts operating in full force.