Well-known Sri Lankan racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa who achieved his dream of becoming a world renowned racer said that his second dream is to help Sri Lanka manufacture its first vehicle in the near future.
He was addressing the media at a ceremony to sign an MoU between Sri Lanka’s leading trailer manufacturer and exporter Tantri Trailers and the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka (VTASL) to employ students following welding courses at the VTASL.
“My one goal was to bring pride to the country with a global accolade and now I have fixed my gaze on helping the country to produce its first vehicle rather than being known for assembling automobiles which it had done for decades,” said Malagamuwa who was felicitated by the Japanese Premier in 1997 for becoming the first non Japanese Asian to compete in Japan’s Formula Nippon.
He was also awarded the ‘Most Popular Player of the Year’ title at the first sports platinum awards in 2016.
Sri Lankan youth should stop migrating for employment when there is ample scope for innovation and industrial development in the country, Malagamuwa said urging youth to use their skills and innovations to develop the country instead of engaging in unskilled and semi-skilled work abroad which is a waste of time and skills.
Tantri Trailers (Pvt) Ltd Managing Director Athula Haputantri said his company is ready to provide the best in class industrial training that will give an edge to youth in their career path.
With the MoU in place, Tantri Trailers will recruit youth receiving training at the VTASL to provide them with a 360° learning experience.
The arrangement is mutually beneficial as it will ensure that Tantri Trailers consolidates its talent-pool with qualified, skilled and proficient individuals, whilst the VTASL will provide its students with the practical, hands-on knowledge and experience they need to complete their training. Tantri Trailerswas founded in 1979 by John Haputantri, an ex-Sri Lanka Navy Officer manufactured its first trailer in 1982, with commercial production commencing in 1986. As the demand for trailers increased, the business was incorporated and traded as Tantri Trailers (Pvt) Limited, and began functioning as the specialised trailer manufacturing and steel fabricating arm of the group from 1991.
Since then, Tantri Trailers has designed, manufactured, and exported various logistics solutions for the local and global consumer, inclusive of being involved in many heavy steel and metal fabrication projects.
Today, Tantri Trailers has expanded its product range further, designing and manufacturing various other goods from trailers to tankers, construction plant and equipment, storage tanks, silos, structures, and overhead gantry cranes. Having consistently striven to expand their global market reach, Tantri Trailers exports goods to over 30 countries.
Despite various constraints due to the present market conditions globally, Tantri Trailers looks to the future with renewed ambition, anticipating collaboration with the Vocational Training Authority for islandwide training and recruitment of employees, while providing technical job opportunities for unemployed youth across Sri Lanka.
State Minister of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation Seetha Arambepola said there had not being an upgrading in teaching and technology in many industrial training institutions for decades and added that modernisation of vocational and technical training was paramount to develop industries.