Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe (second from the right) with other esteemed guests of the conference.

Representing the Colombo Plan Staff College and the Asia-Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission as the Director General and President, respectively, Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe was in Timor-Leste from August 12-18, 2022 to visit some institutions in the country and to be one of the panelists at the 2nd Timor-Leste International Skills Conference. The event, with the theme “Increasing the Quality and Inclusiveness of Timor-Leste’s TVET for National Development '' was held at the Oka Convention Center located in the country’s capital city, Dili on August 15-16, 2022.

During his trip, Prof. Wickramasinghe was able to share his knowledge and information with the participants, particularly on the subject of mutual recognition of qualifications and TVET institutional accreditation. In addition, he was able to establish new connections and renewed existing linkages with key officials from various international organizations for future partnerships and collaboration. He also visited key technical institutes in the country and exchanged information about key interests in TVET.

Aside from attending the conference activities, he was also able to meet esteemed officials from the Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento de Mão-de-Obra (INDMO), CPSC’s development partner in Timor-Leste, particularly their Director, Ms. Isabel Fernandes de Lima. INDMO is considered one of the premiere TVET institutions in the country. Their delegation visited CPSC back in August 2019 to further discuss opportunities for collaboration, particularly in the field of institutional accreditation.

Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe addressing the audience as a panelist during the Conference.

Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe (third from left) visiting a technical college in Dili together with some of the conference attendees.

Key attendees of the conference include the following: H.E. General Taur Matan Ruak, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste; H.E. Dr. Armindo Maia, Minister-MEJD – Secondary Technical and Vocational Education; H.E. Mr. Longuinhos dos, Santos, Minister-MESCC – Tertiary Technical Education and H.E. Dr. Rui Augusto Gomes, Minister, Ministry of Finance.