r Ministry of Defence - Sri Lanka

M2C Produces its Third Batch of 22 Retired & Serving Officers for Civil Administration

November 16, 2021

"Military to Corporate Transformation Capsule', the third batch of 22 retired and serving officers, comprising of Major Generals, Brigadiers, Rear Admirals and Commodores / Air Commodores took the salute this evening (14) in a fitting finale before sun-set at the Water's Edge, with Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof) Jayanath Colombage as the Chief Guest.

The initiative which is sponsored by the Group Chairman of ACCESS Engineering PLC Mr. Sumal Perera was initially launched in March 2021, for retired officers. Batch two was launched in Aug 20201 and it was the first time that the initiative was open for the serving officers of the tri-forces and that too was a tremendous success, said General Daya Ratnayake (Rtd) the Patron and initiator of M2C in Sri Lanka, a media release issued by the 'M 2C Military to Corporate Entrepreneurship Certification' Capsule said on Sunday (14).

The conversion kit that will help transform military veterans into corporate trailblazers ready to lead private or State-run organizations will encompass adoption of corporate work ethic and strategic thinking, people management and work agendas driven by wealth creation on the cutting-edge of technology and knowledge transfer, says Mr. Ranjeewa Kulatunga, Patron for the Alumni of IPMA-HR.USA in Sri Lanka and Managing Director of Intercontinental Institute of Human Resource Management (HRM) which leads the ground-breaking programme.

The nominations are managed by the M2C Operational Directorate headed by Major General Ajith Kolambathantri, Military Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Roshan Biyanwila, Director Admin SLAF, Commodore Vijitha Marapana and Colonel Sujeewa Rathnayake, M2C Military Coordinating officer under the direction of the Tri-Force Commanders in collaboration with OCDS. The carefully picked IIHRM team of corporate consultants who facilitated the sessions led by Mr Ranjeewa Kulatunga of Chief Consultant IIHRM, Mr Omar Khan World Speaker and Founder.

Sensel International, Dr. Marlon Ferreira, Mr. Kumara Galhenage (Group GM Talent Development Brandix), Mr. Faraz Farook (Lead Consultant IHRM), Mr. Ranjan de Silva (Chief Consultant IHRM & Head Sensel Asia) Mr. Mufthi Hashim of The ILM..UK, Rohan Dias of Sensei and Mr. Bradley Emerson (Chief Consultant IHRM and MD IIHE), Mr. Omar Khan (Founder Sensel Global), received appreciation awards from Admiral (Prof) Colombage and the Pre Course Assessment was facilitated by Mrs. Rukmani Manohar (Senior Consultant IIHRM). The ILM.UK awarded full membership with access to ILM's 49 global modules to the M2C Faculty affiliated to IHRM.

As these professionals leave a distinguished military career, corporate Sri Lanka and State-run institutions have an invaluable opportunity to harness their superior skills and discipline. Trained to be officers and gentlemen, battle-hardened toughness is all but one part of their multi-faceted character and skill sets. Retiring Officers must remain an invaluable asset to the country, we are indeed glad to be part of this laudable initiative working together alongside IHRM, CIMA and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce says the generous Mr Sumal Perera, Chairman of ACCESS Engineering PLC, the resource partner for the 'M2C Military to Corporate Entrepreneurship Certification' Capsule series.

Sri Lanka's adoption to the universally-recognized concept of M2C or military to corporate transfer was first proposed in a new strategic transformational framework for Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force with IHRM's Ranjeewa Kulatunga and Dr. Dinesh Watawana, among its authors during General Daya Ratnayake's (Rtd) stewardship as the Commander of the SLA.

The specially designed immersion workshops give senior military officials a simulated experience in understanding how things click outside the military, the general business behavior and just how to embrace the change while pointing them towards modern skill-sets they must acquire on the cutting-edge - especially with the introduction of a pre module assessment center to determine the competency gaps of the participating officers makes the initiative valid, reliable and relevant to each individual said Prof. Gunapala Nanayakkara the iconic educationist who is the head of the IIHRM Global Advisory Council.

The initiative was flagged under the auspicious of Admiral (Prof) Jayanath Colombage-Secretory to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Major General Priyantha Perera (Chief of Staff SL Army). Rear Admiral Y.N Jayaratna, Chief of Staff of the SL Navy and Air Vice Marshal Prasanna Payoe, Chief of Staff of the SL Air Force as Guests of Honour.

The official M2C website www.mcsrilankacenter.com that was created by the web sponsor Allion Technologies will showcase the CVs of the officers giving the corporates free access to engage with them directly - besides this our graduate placement partner the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce use this website to drive the placement drive. CIMA, Sri Lanka and The Institute of Leadership and Management UK joined as the 'Mentor and Mentee Development Partner' and as the Virtual Global Management Learning Partner respectively, CIMA Sri Lanka headed by Mrs. Zahara Ansary launched the mentoring initiative for all the mentees with the support of the CIMA Alumni to guide and shape the veterans into their new life. CIMA will also continue to provide monthly learning capsules to ensure continuous development together with its Facilitation Partner IHRM. The first virtual learning opportunity for M2C Alumni will be hosted by CIMA on 15th Nov 2021 for all 75 members.

The ILM.UK partnered with IHRM last month -though which M2C graduates will have access to Tun II membership, and access to 49 online global training modules. This will also open doors for the M2C Graduates to use the designation suffix ILM.UK after their name for a mere 60GBP said Mr Mufthi Mashim the Regional Representative/Consultant ILM Sri Lanka. Cool-Tempo has supported the M2C initiative as its event partner and Big Jobs continue to be the graduate CV development partner - concluded Mr Ranjeewa Kulatunga, the facilitation partner for M2C Sri Lanka Center.

The Graduates and faculty with The Chief Guest Admiral (Prof) Jayanath Colombage (Rtd) - Secretory to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Initiator and Patron of M2C Sri Lanka General Daya Ratnayake (Rtd), The Resource Partner and Host Mr. Sumal Perera -Group Chairman ACCESS Engineering PLC, Mr. Ranjeewa Kulatunga, Co Author M2C Framework/Facilitation partner and MD IHRM Global together with Mrs. Zahara Ansary, Country Manager CIMA Sri Lanka, and Mr. Mufthi Hashim, the ILM.UK Regional Representative/Consultant franked by the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, Navy and Air Force.

Rear Admiral Y N Jayarathna, Air Vice Marshal Roshan Biyanwila - Director Admin, Major General Ajith Kolambathanri - Military Secretary, Commodore Vijitha Marapana - Naval Secretary were also associated with the event.

Courtesy - www.army.lk