Jobs in Europe

We have heard countless stories of Sri Lankans and indeed other South Asians braving risky sea journeys to Europe in rust buckets that pass off as vessels.

The ultimate aim of these youth is illegal migration to Europe and a better lifestyle than in their Third World countries. Only a few manage this feat - almost all such illegal migrants end up in European jails or face immediate deportation.

While the International Organisation for Migration and other similar organisations strive to tackle this problem, there is a far better alternative: Legal migration. Unfortunately, Europe’s reputation as Fortress Europe has not helped this cause.

The expansion of the European Union to 25 countries and the resulting intra-EU migration is perhaps causing the EU to close their doors to nationals of other countries.

But the indications are that these countries are changing their thinking on this issue at last. The truth is that both Western Europe and the rapidly advancing Eastern Europe need foreign labour. Besides, legal migrants and job seekers add variety to the cultural milieu of the host nations.

Thus the step taken by France, Poland and Romania to provide jobs for Lankans is a step in the right direction. This is the result of a successful tour undertaken by a high level delegation headed by Minister for Foreign Employment and Welfare Keheliya Rambukwella. Sri Lanka is set to sign MOUs with Poland and Romania before the end of the year and with France in January.

Accordingly, skilled labour opportunities in industrial, construction and hospitality sectors would be on offer for Sri Lankans who possess skills and qualifications in accordance with international standards.

The latest opportunity is expected to provide prospective Lankan job seekers with better salaries and perks in comparison to employment opportunities in the Middle East and Asian destinations.

This is a golden opportunity for professionals in these sectors to find employment avenues in France, one of the most industrialised nations in Europe and Poland and Romania, two rising economies of the new Europe. There is no doubt that other countries in Europe will come forward to recruit Sri Lankans in the future.

One of the prime requirements for the prospective job seekers will be language proficiency. The Foreign Employment Bureau (FEB) should conduct the relevant language courses for selected job seekers so that they can integrate and communicate easily with their employers and other locals.

They should also be told to get trade and educational qualifications which will be readily recognised by these countries.

The Bureau in recent times has initiated a number of steps to discourage the common practice of sending unskilled domestic workers and to encourage skilled migrant labour for higher wages.

The employment offer from Europe will be an impetus for this decision and will enable Sri Lanka to shed its wrong image in some countries as an exporter of unskilled housemaids. Moreover, the new opportunities will give more males the chance to go abroad for employment.

The expansion of the labour market abroad will be a good omen for the country. According to latest statistics the Sri Lankan migrant worker fraternity is considered to be in excess of 1.6 million with another 220,000 new recruits joining the numbers annually. Migrant worker remittances are only second to the income earned through apparel exports.

Considering the growth rates in the recent times foreign employment is set to eclipse apparel exports as Sri Lanka’s biggest foreign exchange earner in the near future. With the higher salaries granted in Europe, this figure can only go up.

Sri Lankan authorities are also taking more concrete measures on migrant workers’ welfare. Authorities in recent times have signed MOUs with UAE, Jordan, Libya, Bahrain, Korea and Kuwait seeking better protocol on issues related to Sri Lankan migrant workers. Sri Lanka plans to enter into similar MOUs with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Japan in the future.

Our embassies abroad must play a major role in this regard. There should be constant liaison between the FEB and these embassies on the job opportunities available. They should be widely publicised so that prospective employees can apply through the FEB and legal agencies safe in the knowledge that they would not be duped.