More Lankans should vie for hospitality jobs in UAE

DUBAI: Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed Nabavi Junaid, said more Sri Lankan migrant workers should vie for skilled jobs in the hospitality and hotel industry in the UAE, rather than opting to work in factories or households.

In an interview with Khaleej Times, Junaid, who is nearing the end of his three-year tenure in the country this month, said. "If our workers could get a better share of the hospitality and the health sector, we would be really pleased.

We (Sri Lanka Government) are not focussing on unskilled labourers any more. We have been discouraging them from coming here as unskilled workers like housemaids, cleaners or garment workers. Instead, we want them to be employed as skilled professionals in hotels and hospitals."

According to embassy statistics, over 250,000 Sri Lankans reside in the UAE, the third highest, next to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The diplomat conceded that their living away from their families has had a major social impact on Sri Lanka, especially among children, who have been away from their mothers for many years.

Khaleej Times