The inaugural drawing office was established in 1866, coinciding with the formation of the Government Servants Draughtsman’s Union (G.S.D.U) within the Public Works Department (P.W.D.) in 1926.
Between 1977 and 1994, as part of the government’s new development program, the private sector expanded, leading to the establishment of numerous drafting offices throughout the country. The G.S.D.U. primarily comprised draftspersons employed in government departments. Recognizing this situation, they decided to create a new organization to bring together all practicing draftspersons in Sri Lanka. Consequently, the “Professional Draughtsman’s Association” was founded in 1997.
In 1998, the association was formally incorporated with the Department of the Company Registrar as a non-profit entity. The status of “Sri Lanka” was requested from the Honorable Minister of Trade, Mr. Kingsley Wickramarathne, and was granted.
In the year 2000, the institute underwent a name change, becoming the “Institute of Drafting Technologists Sri Lanka.”
In 2008, the institute’s executive committee made the decision to establish district branches, resulting in the formation of 17 district branches that operate in parallel with the institute. General branch membership is extended to all draughts men, irrespective of their qualifications and experience.
General members are consistently encouraged to enroll in the Institute’s national membership program.
In 2005, the IDTSL was officially registered with TVEC as a training delivery institute.
In 2007, members of the institute actively participated in NVQ programs aimed at developing National standards and Curricula for drafting courses offered by TVEC, NAITA, and UNIVOTEC.
In 2010, the Diploma in Building Drafting Technology was accredited as an NVQ level 5 course, and the Certificate of Draughts person was accredited as an NVQ level 3 course.
In 2011, the UDA (Urban Development Authority) recognized NVQ level 5 qualifications as a requirement for designing and certifying buildings in categories C2 and C3.
In 2021, the UDA reached a settlement with the institution to accept the annual list of qualified individuals in a Supreme Court case.
Additionally, in 2021, the UDA upgraded the NVQ level 5 qualification to allow for the design and certification of buildings in categories C1, C2, and C3.
In 2023, members of the IDTSL took part in revising NVQ level 3 and level 5 qualifications.
Our mission centres on achieving recognition for draftspersons as professionals and enhancing their technical and creative capabilities in alignment with modern technologies.
The background story to our mission is as follows: As we approach the end of the ninth decade of the 20th century, we have substantial evidence to suggest that the situation of draughtsmen in Sri Lanka had deteriorated. This decline was marked by the following developments:
In light of these barriers and constraints impeding the progress of draftspersons, our institute is committed to the following objectives:
Over the past 15 years, we have actively engaged in more than 100 meetings with ministers, parliamentarians, ministry secretaries, and other professional institutes to pursue these goals on behalf of draughtsmen in Sri Lanka.
We are proud to announce that our sustained efforts bore fruit when we achieved the status of Qualified Persons in 2011. Recognizing our enduring struggle, the Honourable Minister issued an Extraordinary Gazette on April 12, 2011 (No. 1701/13), officially including drafting technologists holding NVQ Level 5 Drafting Technology (Buildings) qualifications in the Qualified Persons list of the Urban Development Authority of Sri Lanka.
In 2021, the UDA further expanded this recognition through an official gazette on July 8, 2021, under number 2235/54.
The Institute of Drafting Technologists in Sri Lanka (IDTSL) now stands as the sole professional body for draftspersons and drafting technologists in the country.
