Skills programmes for foreign job seekers

Rasika Somarathna

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has launched targeted training programmes to boost skills of youth who aspire to foreign jobs to improve their prospects to enter-and thrive in modern job markets, especially ones in developed countries.

They recently initiated a programme to train caregivers with the help of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) at Nawala where SLBFE sponsored full scholarships to the first batch.

The SLBFE plans to initiate such programmes in the fields of health, IT, security and hospitality initially in partnership with both local and foreign expertise including universities and other higher educational institutions.

SLBFE Chairman Amal Senalankadikara said programes to boost foreign languages too will be a apart of this effort and public and private sector support will be sought.

The Foreign Employment and Welfare Ministry led by Minister Dilan Perera recently announced that they will be pursuing a job specific-country specific -company specific strategy when looking to improve the skills of certain worker categories to ensure higher prospects for their employability.