Increase in IT workforce essential

To achieve ambitious targets:

The total IT workforce in the country is estimated at just over 50,000 in 2010, the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) said.

This includes the Government, IT and all other sectors.

“There is no surprise that more than 55 percent of the demand for IT graduates comes from the IT industry. Around 25 percent of the demand exists in other industries who utilize technology for their operations such as banking”, ICTA Private Sector Development and Investment Promotion Program Head Fayaz Hudah said. He said around 10 percent of the IT graduates are demanded by the Government sector.

This is a good sign as the government re-engineering processes take shape. The industry has set itself an ambitious target of achieving US $ 1 billion in export revenue in the next few years.

The capacity of persons available to work in this industry in different roles and at different levels of expertise will have to dramatically increase for this to be achieved along with the increase in the workforce to around 100,000 persons” he said. The majority of IT related businesses are involved in trading which is mostly operationally focused. It is important to consider this fact when seeking the majority view in formulating policies and deciding on other impacting aspects to create a knowledge based economy in Sri Lanka.

The global recession dampened the high double digit growth seen across many outsourcing provider destinations but the recent signs are that things are steadily improving.

Sri Lanka has been promoting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in IT and related sectors with the intention of tapping into this growth story. (IH)