Lanka looks out for new foreign job vistas

Sri Lanka is on the look out for new vistas in foreign employment, to face the challenge posed by the global economic melt down, which is threatening to cut down thousands of jobs held by Lankan migrant workers, Foreign Employment and Welfare Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

Addressing around 60 youth who are to take wing shortly to South Korea for employment, the Minister said instead of lying low,

Sri Lanka was ready to face the challenge and was already on the look out for new avenues and destinations to propagate the sector.

Identifying migrant worker remittances as Sri Lanka's largest foreign exchange earner, the Minister said a series of measures were underway to cushion the impact of the recession on the industry, such as new destinations, programmes to train highly skilled workers, maximising remittances etc.

The Minister added that Korean job offers were continuing as usual in contrary to some false speculation and it had made a steady growth during 2008, with more than, 6000 taking wing to Korea for employment.

While claiming that the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment had recorded an unprecedented growth of 106 per cent during 2008 in comparison to the previous year, the Minister said Authorities should work harder to keep the momentum going. RS