A Milestone Achievement: Barista Coffee Lanka Celebrates Its First-Ever NVQ Level 4 Graduation Ceremony

Seventeen trainees graduated from Barista Coffee Lanka’s first NVQ Level 4 programme at a ceremony held at the RNH Auditorium in Colombo on 22 September.

The graduation follows several years of development for the company’s training programme. Barista Coffee Lanka introduced its Barista Certificate Level Programme in 2021 to provide practical hospitality skills and a route into work. It subsequently gained recognition at NVQ Level 3 and then Level 4.

The company offers the training without course fees. Graduates are also offered opportunities to join Barista Coffee Lanka, linking the programme to potential employment in its business. The first Level 4 cohort completed its training before receiving recognition at the Colombo ceremony.

Representatives of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission and the National Youth Corps attended, along with trainers, assessors and members of the company’s management. The announcement named TVEC Director General K. A. Lalithadheera and other officials among those acknowledged for supporting the programme.

Barista Coffee Lanka Managing Director Imran Akbarally and Chief Executive Officer and Director Dilupa Pathirana were among the management representatives at the event.

The programme is intended to combine learning with skills relevant to hospitality work. For trainees, the NVQ route offers a vocational qualification alongside practical preparation for jobs in the sector.

The company traced its first Level 4 graduation to the certificate programme launched five years earlier. It said progression to Level 3 took about a year and a half, with Level 4 recognition following over the next two years.

The ceremony marked the completion of training for the first 17 Level 4 graduates. It also recognised the students, trainers and vocational education partners involved in developing the programme from its initial certificate course.