Foreign revenue up US $ 3.3 b

Suraj A. Bandara in Vavuniya

Foreign revenue has increased by US$ 3.3 billion to be on a par with the previous year which recorded an increase of US$ 2.9 billion, Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment Secretary Susil S. Sirisena said.

He was speaking after opening a provincial office and training centre in Vavuniya District. This is the 27th branch which opened by the Bureau this year.

Sirisena said the number of expatriate workers is increasing rapidly. “There is an encouraging demand for Sri Lankan labour in the world as we are reputed to have hard-working people,” he said.

There are over 1.8 million expatriate workers. Most of are employed in the Middle Eastern countries as domestic aids. The Bureau is encouraging people to have a proper training before they leave for foreign jobs. The number of domestic labourers will be minimized under this scheme. They will be sent after training at the Bureau, Sirisena said.

Vavuniya Mayor S. N. J. Nathan said this is a significant moment for the youth in the region to seek job opportunities with a good guidance and proper training. With the war ending the youth in Vavuniya are keen on jobs - both local and foreign.

There are many bogus agents in the region who deceive innocent foreign job seekers. “We face financial problems when looking for foreign jobs. We also face problems when going to Colombo. It is also easy to approach this office and verify the situation, he added.