Nippon Paint Lanka Academy has trained over 150 painters since its launch in 2015. Now in its sixth batch, the program aims to impart the skills necessary for professionalism.
“We launched Nippon Paint Lanka Academy as a CSR project to help develop professional skills among painters in Sri Lanka,” said, General Manager, Nippon Paint Lanka, Nemantha Abeysinghe.
“It is designed to raise the standards in the industry and provide our consumers with a higher quality of use of technologically advanced paints and coatings products that we offer,” he said.
In Sri Lanka painters become professionals with great difficulty, said Head of Technical Support, Nippon Paint Lanka, Prabath Jayawardana.
“Many of them are those who have come in as casual assistants. He works with a ‘Head Baas’ and gradually develops his skill. They lack the knowledge to be classified as professional painters. However, advanced knowledge is still at a basic level. It is only up to around NVQ Level 3 or 4. Our aim is to have professional painters with advanced knowledge in Sri Lanka.
There is no purpose in us introducing some of the best products if the painters lack the knowledge to use it properly,” he said. “Even the best product in the world is useless unless it is applied properly. This training is given free. We give technical knowledge to understand the surfaces correctly, to know the environmental conditions such as the temperature and humidity, the correct product and coating system to be used, and the correct method of using it to desired finish.
“We show them that they won’t be professional painters simply by using a brush or a roller. They are taught which brush to use, how to use it correctly and how to get the correct finish. It is through our programs that the painters acquired the knowledge that there is one roller for painting interiors and another for exteriors.
“Often, home owners or end-users attribute the lack of a finish to a problem with the paint, whereas it is due to the lack of professionalism,” Jayawardena said.