Steps taken to produce skilled labour force - SLFEB chief

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

The Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) has taken measures to produce a well trained labour force to meet the demands of developed countries, chairman Amal Senadhilankara said. The labour force will cater to the optimum requirement demanded in several specialised fields that fetch good salaries, he said.

“However, the present labour force in the country is not up to required standards and we continue to send non-trained workers and housemaids to foreign countries.

“This should be stopped,” he said. Senadhilankara was addressing the inauguration ceremony of a care givers training programme at the Open University.

Candidates who complete the three month training programme will receive certificates.

The first group of candidates who participating in the course received scholarships at the ceremony. The SLFEB granted Rs 15,000 to each candidate. “Fields such as health, information technology, security, care giving, food and beverage have many openings in the foreign job market.

Because of that, those fields should be developed,” Senadhilankara said.

The chairman said the SLFEB joined with universities and other educational institutes to train the Sri Lankan labour force in these fields.

Arrangements have been made to provide language training to migrant workers simultaneous to vocational training. Hence language knowledge to work in countries like Canada, Italy and Japan, will be provided, he said.