SLGTI established a Quality Committee for a continuous accompaniment of quality measures undertaken. It consists of 10 members who represent the relevant stakeholders at the SLGTI (management and administration /academic staff from all levels of hierarchy and different departments). The meetings are held on a monthly basis, chaired by the Principal G. Tharmanathan. Mr. Udana Eranda, who is a member of the Quality Committee was appointed as Quality Management Representative of SLGTI on June 1, 2017. As the former Head of Department in Food Technology and as certified Quality Assurance Expert (Lead Auditor), Mr. Eranda played an important role in achieving the highest quality standards at the SLGTI prior to departing for his two year’s study leave. He was supported by the Advisor to SLGTI, Christoff Wiethoff.
The Sri Lanka German Training Institute stands for quality education according to the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) framework. To keep up with the highest standards, SLGTI is proud to be implementing the ISO 9001:2015 standard, the international Quality Management System (QMS). It presents fundamental management and quality assurance practices for the benefit of students and staff. A QMS ensures sustaining improvements and innovative standards – therefore, ISO (based on TVEC requirements) is an ideal model for managing SLGTI as an educational institute in Sri Lanka.
The SLGTI Management, the staff members and the Quality Management team seize every experience, whether good or bad, as an opportunity to gain learning and knowledge.
To ensure highest educational standards, the Quality Management team;
- Conducts surveys (student feedback survey and teachers’ evaluation)
- Records, analyses and distributes statistical information
- Works with management team and operating staff to establish policies, procedures, forms and other documents (e.g. guidelines)
- Writes reports according quality assurance
- Achieves quality management operational objectives by contributing information and analysis to strategic plans and reviews
- Investigates and sets standards for quality, and health and safety conducting internal
SLGTI maintains quality standards to the fullest in order to achieve the vision; ‘To be an internationally recognised technical training institute.’ Therefore, SLGTI introduced the Quality- is-Fun (QiF) approach to all employees as well.
Quality-is-Fun (QiF) is not a new Quality Management System. It fine-tunes and sharpens the quality approach to SLGTI. Dr. Markus M. Boehner, Advisor to the Ministry of Skills
Development and Vocational Training, conducted four QiF workshops at SLGTI to create awareness among all staff members that Quality is fun! Quality work improves the happiness of each person at work. There are three basic pillars for quality work in any institution according to the International Research and Quality Work Experience.
- Successful teamwork: Involving all levels of staff – Management, Academic, non-Academic
- Knowing yourself and self-confidence: Self-reflection, Strengths and Support
- Successful communication: Listening, Looping and Dipping skills
Dr. Boehner conducted the first QiF-workshop on September 26, 2016 by focusing on Quality and Educational Games.
The second QiF-workshop was held on January 9, 2017 by diving deep into the 12 steps to Quality-is-Fun:
- Readiness to change,
- QiF Kick-off-Meeting,
- Establishing a Quality Steering Committee,
- Common high-quality procedures and processes,
- Feedback from Customers,
- Focus on core procedures, processes and standardisation,
- Central location for essential TVET documents,
- The need for record keeping,
- The central trainee competence,
- Internal evaluation – and why!,
- The Being-Happy Committee in TVET institutions,
- External evaluation by a critical friend.
Third QiF-workshop on March 10, 2017 was based on academic matters by focusing on Problem-based Learning and the usage of Soft Skills-Tools, and the fourth QiF-workshop (July 13, 2017) enhanced the Problem-Based-Learning approach among the academic staff.
Since, Mr. Udana Eranda is on two-year study leave Ms. Karthika Sivalingam is overseeing the Quality Management of the SLGTI at present.