Hayleys Plantations set a new benchmark for the Sri Lankan Plantations Sector as 80 of its Field
Officers became the first-ever graduates of the company’s groundbreaking Technical Skills
Development Programme (HPTDP- Tea and Rubber).
Harnessing decades of unmatched technical and practical knowledge retained within the
organisation, the course was conducted primarily by veteran Estate and Deputy Estate Managers
from Hayleys Plantations, together with respected academic leaders in the field from the Faculty of
Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, the Tea Research Institute and Rubber Research Institute.
“Especially in an environment of such great uncertainty, it is our knowledge and dedication to
excellence that sets us apart. To ensure that we remain resilient, we must combine the latest best
practices with Hayleys Plantations’ extensive experience and knowledge in harvesting and field
operations. Developing this course led us to identify areas of improvement while also enhancing the
collective knowledge of our workforce.
“Therefore, we take this opportunity to congratulate our inaugural graduating batch of Field Officers
warmly and salute their outstanding dedication to the values that continue to make Hayleys
Plantations one of the world’s most respected producers of the highest quality Ceylon tea and
natural rubber,” Hayleys Plantations Managing Director, Dr. Roshan Rajadurai stated.
Conducted across 44 lectures for tea and 40 lectures for rubber, respectively, the Technical Skills
Development internal certificate course was conducted at the Hayleys Plantations training centres in
Hatton, Pedro and Dewalakanda. Curated by the Human Resources Division of Hayleys Plantations,
the course effectively achieved all training and development KPIs of the company.
Meanwhile, the graduation ceremony was hosted under strict social distancing protocols at the
Dambulla Athletic and Cricket Club in Radella with Senior Professor Buddhi Marambe from the
Faculty of Agriculture, the University of Peradeniya as the Chief Guest. Dr. M. Wijerathne and Dr.
Mahasen Ranatunge from TRI were Guests of Honour at the ceremony.
“The main objectives of the course was to enhance the technical knowledge of our Field Officers
through the study of new scientifically researched processes while developing the skills of our
managers in communication, presentation and industry research. We are proud to say we achieved a
high training yield ratio with a recorded success rate of 98% and a learner’s satisfaction rate of 93%,”
Kelani Valley Plantations General Manager- HR & Corporate Sustainability -Anuruddha Gamage said.
Ranked as one of the worlds most respected and innovative plantation groups, Hayleys Plantations
has continuously invested in employee upskilling. Over the recent past, 100 of the group’s Field
Officers were also selected for the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) and the first-ever
National Skills Passport (NSP) programme in the plantations industry.
Similarly, the company has consistently won local and global recognition for its pioneering approach
to human resources management, including the first-ever Global HR Excellence Award, Asia- Pacific
HR Excellence Awards for two consecutive years and the National HR Excellence and Great HR
Practices Award for three years.
Hayleys Plantations also bagged an impressive four Gold Awards, four Silver Awards, four Bronze
Awards and two Merit Awards at the Social Dialogue and Workplace Cooperation Awards
organised by the Department of Labour. Hayleys Plantations subsidiaries, Kelani Valley Plantations
PLC (KVPL), was especially honoured with a Gold Award in the Small Scale Category- Service
Sector, an impressive feat as it was the first time the award was presented to a plantation company.
KVPL further consolidated its reputation locally when it won the Gold Award for Overall Excellence
at the National Business Excellence Awards 2019 as the second plantation company to win the
prestigious title, an honour typically reserved for Sri Lanka’s largest blue-chip companies. Notably,
sister company Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC (TTEL) garnered recognition as the first-ever
plantations company to win the Gold for Overall Excellence at the National Business Excellence
Awards 2018.
Both plantations companies were also recognised internationally as country winners at the
prestigious Hallbars Sustainability Report Awards 2020. KVPL’s Annual Report for 2017/2018,
‘Growth Beyond Measure’, was recognised as the Best in the world in the Tea Category. Similarly,
TTEL was presented with two Silver Awards at the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ASRA)
2019.
Established in 1878 by Chas. P. Hayley, as a trading house in Galle specialising in import and export,
the Hayleys Group has since grown to serve as a centrepiece of the Sri Lankan economy while
maintaining a global presence of manufacturing and marketing offices across five regions with
business interests spanning a total of 16 sectors. Today it stands out as one of Sri Lanka’s most
prominent success stories, having been the first listed Sri Lankan corporate to surpass US$ 1billion
in revenue and accounting for 3.3% of the nation’s total export earnings.