On April 25th 2008, 19 students from Pakistan completed a two month training programme at Gem & Jewellery Institute (GJI), Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This occasion marked a milestone in the history of Sri Lankan Lapidary (Gem Cutting and Polishing) education. For the first time a group of foreign students has undergone training in Gem Cutting and Polishing in a Sri Lankan Institute, which is an outcome of the MOU between the two countries, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for cooperation in the Gem and Jewellery Sector.
GJI is a public-private partnership not for profit initiative with National Gem & Jewellery Authority (NGJA), Export Development Board (EDB), Tertiary & Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) and Gem & Jewellery Research & Training Institute (GJRTI) as members from the state side and Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association (SLGJA) and 10 leading jewellery companies from the side of the private sector. The active participation of the industry in managing its affairs is looked upon as one of the biggest strengths of GJI.
Though GJI is renowned in overseas for its world class training, its main objective is to develop the trade in Sri Lanka and bring it to a globally competitive level. We believe that the potential of the industry is enormous and we believe that our youth could be developed to be outstanding craftsmen and Entrepreneurs.
To bring these beliefs in to reality, NGJA offers a special scholarship for selected courses. This helps a lot of small companies and individuals to obtain high quality training at affordable costs.
At present the institute offers training in Jewellery Technical Drawing, Basic/ Advanced Stone Setting, Basic/ Advanced Gem Cutting and Polishing and Jewellery Casting and wishes to expand itself and offer a variety of courses in the future.
