Sri Lanka’s business education sphere will see the addition of a new entrant by mid this year with Sri Lanka’s top retail giant gearing up to set foot into that sphere.

Singer Sri Lanka, having successfully run its fashion and sewing academy for nearly 57 years, is in the midst of expanding its boundaries to accommodate a business school.

To this end, Singer has incorporated a new company, Singer Business School (Pvt.) Limited.

The Singer Business School, which is expected to be inaugurated by early September this year, will be an extension to the Singer Fashion and Sewing Academy.

“With Singer being a household name and well known for its Fashion and Sewing Academy, the management found it a good opportunity to step into the education sector.

Since we have a wealth of experience in training, we are confident in the upcoming Singer Business School in being able to function successfully, that too in a big scale,” Singer Sri Lanka Group CEO Asoka Peiris told Mirror Business.

While the business school will offer certificate and diploma level programmes, Peiris stayed away from mentioning the course details stating the initiative is still in a premature stage.

However, he shared that the programmes offered are yet to be finalised and the syllabuses for the same have been put forward to the relevant authorities for approval.

The business school will be a subsidiary of Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC and will function in a collaborative model where for various programmes Singer will partner with established institutions. “Certain areas we will conduct by our own but for some we will collaborate with experts in that area,” said Peiris, adding that by end-July the key areas of the project will be finalised.

Singer Sri Lanka entered the area of training when it started a ‘Sewing School’ in 1958 to promote its signature sewing machine.

Rebranded as ‘Singer Fashion Academy’ 15 years ago, the institution now boasts of 66 academies and three franchises covering all major cities in the country.