Lanka needs to improve labour productivity
Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA
Sri Lanka needs a firm plan to attract foreign investments and
improve on trade relationships globally to maintain the economic growth
of eight percent in the coming years.
The country should focus on a straight line method in its business
approach and needs to have continuous policies to boost the confidence
level of the international business community. It is important to take
immediate measures to improve productivity on labour and output,
International Chamber of Commerce Chairman Tissa Jayaweera told Daily
News Business.
“Our social status and the business climate are greater than many
countries in the region. However, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia were
able to attract a higher amount of foreign investments as they were able
to build business confidence in potential investors,” he said.
The research and development activities in most countries are carried
out by the State and our facilities are tied up with the University
system. These facilities are not properly used for the benefit of the
country.
“As we are not a research and development country there are only very
few patents, less than five registered per year,” Jayaweera said. The
country should pay more emphasis on producing employable youth as our
education system has so far failed to bridge the job market gap. The
system should be geared for skilled labour export than unskilled labour.
“The adult education facilities are not programmed properly and they
lack opportunities to harness potential,” he said.
There are only 10 percent passing out from the Science stream and
this needs to improve for the agricultural sector of the country to
develop.
The priority of the university system should be given to produce
entrepreneurs as they will be the future job givers. The private
education facilities needs to enhance similar to the health system that
operates parallel to the free healthcare facilities. “Sri Lanka is
already on the world map and we need to position the country into the
first league.
“Though, there is economic turmoil in the Western world it has the
buying power. We are not in the right track if we move away from the
West to Asia and this needs consideration,” Jayaweera said. |