50,000 vacancies in foreign investment sector

Anjana Samarasinghe

COLOMBO: Nearly 50,000 job opportunities are available in the Board of Investment-approved foreign investment sector, Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said.

"The vacancies exist mainly in apparel, health, construction, Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) and IT sectors," Bogollagama said.

There are nearly 2500 vacancies in the Katunayake zone and over 1,000 in the Biyagama zone. There are over 2,000 job opportunities at the Avissawella Zone. Board Of Investment (BOI) projects have created nearly 19,000 additional job opportunities. In the BPO and IT sector there are over 10,000 vacancies. The HSBC business processing centre has provided nearly 1,700 job opportunities for local youth, which can go up to 3,000. There are nine companies in the BPO sector and nearly eight companies are planning to invest in this sector.

"The main problem is that most local youth lack English knowledge and the Ministry is taking steps to overcome this challenge. The Ministry is granting special initiatives for educational and training institutions to provide better services for youth even in rural areas," he added. Many investors in the apparel sector face difficulties due to shortage of machine operators. Accommodation and transport problems have resulted in a shortage of this sector.

The Ministry is now promoting these vacancies on an island wide basis through three programmes. Minister Bogollagama said that the Ministry will take steps to improve transport within and around the zones to facilitate the transport of the workers. "We will set up orientation programmes in remote areas to educate potential candidates and develop their basic skills. Our main aim is to attract school leavers and increase the individual income level of the country," the Minister said.

Commenting about the health sector, the Minister said the private healthcare sector is booming and the demand for nurses too is increasing. Since there is a vacuum for workers in the construction industry some companies have asked permission from the BOI to bring foreign workers to the country.

BOI companies contribute 65 per cent of the country's total exports.