Introducing for the first time in Sri Lanka, the ‘atingi’ eAcademy for tourism and hospitality

The ‘atingi’ eAcademy is a digital learning platform, providing users with the opportunity to develop their knowledge in the tourism and hospitality sector. Introduced by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the e-learning platform caters to anyone interested in upskilling their knowledge on tourism and hospitality-related topics including line staff, management professionals, job seekers and students. The educational content ‘atingi’ provides is geared towards improving vocational training and employability of Sri Lankans for jobs of the future.

The ‘atingi’ eAcademy has more than 40 interactive courses free of charge, based on topics within the tourism and hospitality sector. Each immersive course offers new skills and knowledge relevant for both industry professionals as well as learners who are looking to enter the industry. Learners can enroll into a course that fits their individual need and existing knowledge.

The platform is flexible and allows learners to use any device of their choice for the learning process. The platform is accessible 24/7, allowing users to learn at a preferred pace either on their own or with their peers, with guidance from tutors. Upon the successful conclusion of each course module, users are awarded with a digital certificate.

In the past few years, the tourism and hospitality sector in Sri Lanka has faced several challenges including the Easter Attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently, the ongoing economic crisis. As a result, tourism has seen a drop of over 50 per cent in arrivals since 2018, leading to loss of income and employment in the sector. Prior to the crises, tourism remained the third largest source of foreign currency earnings in Sri Lanka (between 2014 and 2019), contributing about 14 per cent of total foreign currency earnings during this period (Source Central Bank). As the industry has the potential to once more become a key contributor to the economy of the country and create prospective job opportunities, the atingi eAcademy offers the capacity to support and empower industry workers by improving their technical skills.

The rollout of the ‘atingi’ eAcademy is implemented by the Small and Medium-size Enterprise (SME) Sector Development Programme of GIZ Sri Lanka. The programme focuses on enabling business development services geared to achieving international competitiveness, improved inclusiveness and environmental sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in Sri Lanka. The ‘atingi’ eAcademy is targeted to support stakeholders within the Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka, to enhance their competitiveness through strategic capacity development, and improve conditions for alternative and sustainable tourism.”

More information about the ‘atingi’ eAcademy, can be accessed on their website https://www.atingi.org or on the GIZ Sri Lanka Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GIZSriLanka. The eAcademy is promoted by CINEC Campus Pvt Ltd in Sri Lanka. ‘atingi’ is a digital learning platform developed and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

(BMZ)