National Skills Development Report 2015 · 2017. 9. 21. · National Skills Development Report 2015...

National Skills Development

Report

2015

Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission

May 2017

i

This report was validated by the Labour Market Advisory and Coordinating Committee

(LMACC) that was established to co-ordinate activities in the LMIS; undertake the formulation

of labour market policies; and to monitor and supervise the implementation of labour market

programs.

No. Name Designation Organization

1. Mr. D.D.P. Senanayake Deputy General

Manager

Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign

Employment (SLBFE)

2. Mrs. W.A. Chandani

Wijebandara

Statistician Department of Census and

Statistics (DCS)

3. Mr. B.H.S. Suraweera Programme Reforms

Specialist

Skills Sector Development Program

(SSDP)

4. Mr. G. Gunasinghe TVET coordinator SSDP

5. Mr. H.A.R.P. Fernando Assistant Director Ministry of Higher Education

6. Ms. Indra Tudawe/

Ms. Thilini Fernando

Senior Program

Officer

International Labour Organization

(ILO)

7. Ms. S.J. Wijesekara Attorney at law Employers Federation of Ceylon

8. Mr. W.A.F. Jayasiri Director (Industrial

Relations)

Board of Investment (BOI)

9 Ms. W. A. N.

Madushani

Karunarathna,

Assistant

Commissioner,

Department of Labour

10 Ms. Shalika Subasinghe Consultant, SSDP,

Education Global

Practice,

World Bank Group

ii

Contents

Page No.

Chapter 1 – Introduction 1

Chapter 2 – Employment & Unemployment 3

Chapter 3 – Supply Side of Skills Sector 31

Chapter 4 – Foreign Employment 71

Chapter 5 – Current Developments as to Industry Involvement 83

and Enhancing Career Skills

Chapter 6 – Recommendations and Constraints 91

iii

List of Tables

Table 2.1: Distribution of working age population by gender 5

Table 2.2: Distribution of Labour Force by gender 6

Table 2.3: Labour Force Participation Rate by sex 7

Table 2.4: Percentage distribution of inactive population by stated

Reasons, age group and gender – 2015 9

Table 2.5: Economically inactive population by level of education – 2015 10

Table 2.6: Distribution of Employment by gender 11

Table 2.7: Distribution of Employment Rate by gender 11

Table 2.8: Percentage distribution of employed population by employment status 13

Table 2.9: Employed population by employment status and by gender- 2015 14

Table 2.10: Employed population by age group and level of education – 2015 15

Table 2.11: Distribution of Employment by Occupation groups 2013 -2015 16

Table 2.12: Annual Unemployment rate 1990 -2015 18

Table 2.13: Unemployment rate by age group and gender – 2015 19

Table 2.14: Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) 22

by gender, 2011-2015

Table 2.15: Percentage distribution of persons successfully completed a

formal professional/ technical training in 2015 23

Table 2.16: Distribution of Computer literacy among unemployed 25

population (aged 15 – 69 years) by age group – 2014 & 2015

Table 2.17: Percentage distribution of cases reported on the steps taken by 26

the unemployed persons to find/start a job/self-employment 2014-2015

Table 3.1: 7 level qualification system 35

Table 3.2: Number of newly Registered (including renewal) TVET 39

Institutions under Public and Private Sectors

Table 3.3: Number of Accredited Courses (New & Renewal) in each Year 40

Table 3.4: Training Performance of TVEC Registered Public and Private Sector Training

Institutes in 2015 40

iv

Table 3.5: Number of NVQ Certificates issued by Training Provider (2006 – 2015) 42

Table 3.5-1: Number of NVQ Certificate Holders by Year 43

Table 3.6: Number of NVQ Certificates Issued by Industry Sector (2010 - 2015) 43

Table 3.7: Recruitment and Completion of DTET (2010 - 2015) 49

Table 3.8: Training Performance of DTET by Field of Study in 2015 50

Table 3.9: Training Performance of DTET by Province in 2015 51

Table 3.10: Top 10 Courses which recorded the highest Recruitments 52

by Gender in DTET in 2015

Table 3.11: Dropout of Students by Field of Study in 2015 53

Table 3.12: Dropout of Students by Nature of the Course in 2015 54

Table 3.13: Dropouts of Students who followed NVQ Courses by Field of Study 54

Table 3.14: Recruitment and Completion of VTA (2010 - 2015) 56

Table 3.15: Recruitments and Completions in Vocational Training

Authority by Province in 2015 56

Table 3.16: Training Performance of VTA by Field of Study in 2015 57

Table 3.17: Top 10 Courses recording the highest Recruitment by Gender 58

in VTA in 2015

Table 3.18: Dropouts of Students by Field of Study in 2015 59

Table 3.19: Overall Performance in Major Categories of Training 61

Table 3.20: District wise Training Performance in 2015 62

Table 3.21: Recruitment and Completion in CGTTI (2010 - 2015) 64

Table 3.22: Training Performance of CGTTI by Field of Study in 2015 65

Table 3.23: Training Performance of TVEC Registered Private Sector 65

Training Institutions in 2015

Table 4.1: Departures for Foreign Employment by Gender in 2015 74

Table 4.2: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Craft & Related worker Jobs 77

Table 4.3: Foreign Employment Placements for selected service 78

workers & shop & Market workers Jobs

Table 4.4: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Plant & 79

Machine Operators & Assemblers

v

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Economically active and inactive population by age group – 2015 8

Figure 2.2: Economically active and inactive female population by age group – 2015 8

Figure 2.3: Employment Rate by Age group and Gender – 2015 12

Figure 2.4: Employment to population ratio by age group and gender – 2015 12

Figure 2.6: Employed Population by Level of Education (2011 – 2015) 14

Figure 2.7: Underemployment rate by major industry group – 2015 17

Figure 2.8: Unemployment rate by level of education – 2015 20

Figure 2.9: Youth unemployment rate by gender from 2011-2015 21

Figure 2.10: Distribution of reasons an unemployed for not having 24

completed a formal professional/ technical training -2015

Figure 2.11: Expected employments among the unemployed -2015 27

Figure 2.12: Percentage distribution of expected employments among the 27

unemployed by level of education – 2015

Figure 2.13: Status of expected support who wish to start self-employment -2015 28

Figure 2.14: Percentage distribution of expected support who wish to start a 29

self-employment -2015

Figure 3.2: Number of NVQ Certificates Issued from 2006 to 2015 42

Figure 4.1: Trends in Departures for Foreign Employment 72

Figure 4.2: Departures for Foreign Employment by Gender 73

Figure 4.3: Top Five Recruiting Countries for Foreign Employment – 2015 75

Figure 4.4: Trends in Departures for Foreign Employment 76

by Manpower Levels

Figure 4.5: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Craft & Related worker Jobs 77

Figure 4.6: Foreign Employment Placements for selected service

workers & shop & Market workers Jobs 78

Figure 4.7: Foreign Employment Placements Departures for selected 79

Plant & Machine Operators & Assemblers

Figure 4.8: Departures for Foreign Employment to Saudi Arabia by Gender 80

vi

Figure 4.9: Departures for Foreign Employment to Kuwait, Oman and Dubai by Gender 81

Figure 4.10: Departures for Foreign Employment to Lebanon and Jordan by Gender 81

1

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1.1 Overview of the Report

This report looks at the current state of Skills training in Sri Lanka in relation to labour market

needs, and reports on current developments and identifies areas of possible intervention to ensure

a better match. The report presents the principal trends in labour supply and demand, and

highlights areas in which reforms are necessary. With regard to supply of labour, it examines the

performance of TVET sector institutions which were registered under the Tertiary and

Vocational Education Commission. For the first time it also considers demand, not only in terms

of labour market analysis, but also through the direct input of Sector Skills Councils which

represent employers. The aim is to ensure that training institutions will improve their

performance, so as to satisfy demand, rather than relying on traditional patterns of supply.

This is the second National Skills Development Report (NSDR) presented by the Tertiary

and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), of the Ministry of Skills Development and

Vocational Training (MSDVT) as an initiative of the Skills Sector Development Programme

(SSDP). It uses existing data sources to compile the NSDR. The main data sources used in this

review are the Annual Labour Force Surveys (ALFS) which are regularly conducted by the

Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). The Labour Force Surveys (LFS) cover the whole

country and are based on a sample of 25,000 housing units representing all districts. These

include employment and unemployment information within the country. Another data source is

the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE), currently under the purview of the

Ministry of Foreign Employment, which is the sole authority in Sri Lanka responsible for

governance and regulation of the foreign employment industry, protection and welfare of

2

migrant workers and their family members, and promotion and development of employment

opportunities for Sri Lankans outside Sri Lanka.

1.1.2 Organization of the report

The report has 6 chapters, with an introduction in the first chapter to provide an overview and the

organization of the report. Then chapter 2 covers employment and unemployment in Sri Lanka.

Supply side information of skills sector was included in chapter 3 and covers the TVET sector

information. Foreign employment information was included in chapter 4. Chapter 5 included

information related to Sector Skills Councils and initiatives to enhance career skills in the TVET

sector in Sri Lanka in accordance with employment needs. Recommendations for future planning

were included in chapter 6.

3

Chapter 2

Employment and

Unemployment

2.1 Introduction

Information on labour force characteristics, employment and unemployment etc. are collected

through the Annual Labour Force Surveys. The survey provides estimates at the national,

province and district level.

The Department of Census & Statistics has been conducting a Labour force survey since

1990 with the guidelines of the International Labour Organization. These guidelines support to

compare our labour market characteristics with those of other countries. This survey has been

conducted continuously since January 1990, except three times, (in the 2nd quarter of 2001 & 1st

quarter of 2012 due to heavy work load of Census of Population and Housing in 2001 & 2012,

and year 2005 due to the Tsunami). From year 2008 onward the survey covered the whole

country except the Northern Province, until 2011. From 2011 the survey covers all provinces of

the country. Field work of these surveys are carried out by trained staff of the DCS. Data

collection of the survey usually covers all 12 months and this ensures the coverage of seasonal

economic activities.

The survey provides labour market information such as labour force participation rate,

currently economically active labour force population, economically inactive population,

employed and unemployed populations and many other details on labour market of the country.

All LFSs cover only persons living in housing units and therefore excludes those who are usually

living in institutions such as hospitals, aged-care centers and corrective services institutions. Data

4

in all tables in this chapter excludes the Northern Province. And also the estimates from 2011

onward are obtained from reweighted labour force survey data series.

2.1.1: Legal framework for Labour market activities

Working age population is identified as the age 15 and above population for Sri Lanka, mainly

for statistical purposes. Also, the International Labour Organization gave consent1 for 15 years

and over population, to engage in economic activities. But some countries have their different

age limits to engage in economic activities according to their own legal frameworks. In Sri

Lanka also depending on the sector or institute minimum age to enter and maximum age for

retirement are defined. For example, minimum age limit to enter the Public sector is eighteen

years and retirement is at age 55 years. However, they can continue until completion of 60 years

depending on certain conditions. For the teaching staff of universities, this limit is 65 years.

Formal private sector entering and retirement age limits are 18 & 55 respectively. Yet, upper age

limit depends on the regulations of the organization. Yet for the informal sector of the country

there is no entry or exit age limits.

There are various acts and regulations to control labour market conditions of the country.

These are important to consider in statistics especially during a survey on labour market. For

example, according to 20A of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, No.

47 of 1956, Minister of Labour Relations and Productivity Improvement issued an extraordinary

gazette in 2010, introducing regulations for children below 18 years. This act defines the

hazardous activities and prohibits to employ any child less than 18 years of age in such activities.

Also it defines hazardous industries and occupations. Light economic activities are allowed for

age category 15 – 17 years, to engage in given conditions such as not working at night, not lifting

or carrying heavy weights, not exposed to chemicals, etc. Fifty-one identified harmful activities

& conditions are mentioned in this gazette. So there is a legal frame for minimum age, to enter

the labour market. Even though public sector and formal private sector have upper limits for

retirement, employers, own account workers, contributing family workers & informal private

sector workers have not an upper age limit to get their retirement. The understanding on the legal

1 ILO Convention No. 138

Minimum Age Convention, 1973

5

framework of the country is crucial especially when the youth (age 15-24) labour force

participation, employment and unemployment are analyzed.

2.1.2 Main Labour Force Indicators

2.1.2.1 Working Age Population of the country

For a country or region working age population is considered to be those able and likely to work.

For Sri Lanka all persons of age 15 years and above are considered to be in the working age

population. There is no upper age limit. Further the estimated working age population gives an

estimate of the total number of potential workers within an economy. Following Table 2.1

shows the distribution of working age population by gender for some selected years. The

annotations (also in other tables) indicate that, before 2011, the Northern Province was not

included, but from that year on the figures cover the whole country.

Table 2.1: Distribution of working age population by gender

Year

Household Population (15 years & over)

Total Male Female

2008 1 14,626,833 6,848,600 7,778,232

2009 1 14,876,264 6,925,821 7,950,443

2010 1 15,166,285 7,078,246 8,088,039

2011 2 14,975,989 7,027,780 7,948,209

2012 2 14,857,578 6,932,520 7,925,058

2013 2 14,959,065 6,926,750 8,032,315

2014 2 15,134,484 7,025,780 8,108,704

2015 2 15,281,945 7,036,944 8,245,001

The estimated working age population in 2015 for the country is about 15.2 million. Of that about

7.0 million are males and 8.2 million are females. Female working age population is higher

compared to that of males. As the demographers explained Sri Lanka is now experiencing

demographic dividend or a demographic bonus, the age structure transition in Sri Lanka has

Source: Annual Reports of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

6

formed a demographic dividend, which spans from year 1991 to 2017, which is encouraging for

an economic takeoff. As the article explains during this period, the proportion of the working

population (aged 15 - 59 years) is significantly larger than the proportion of the dependents. The

dividend will not last long since the elderly dependency is increasing rapidly.

2.1.2.2 Labour force of the country

Labour force of a country shows the country‟s production capability and job market trends. All

persons who are employed or unemployed during the current reference period are referred to as

economically active or in labour force. The previous week before the data collection date is

considered as the current reference period. All persons who neither worked nor are

available/looking for work during the reference period are economically inactive. Therefore, the

labour force is comprised of current economically active population 15 years and over.

Table 2.2: Distribution of Labour Force by gender

Year Labour Force

Total Male Female

2008 1 8,061,725 5,212,933 2,848,793

2009 1 8,051,089 5,173,106 2,877,983

2010 1 8,096,477 5,310,872 2,785,605

2011 2 7,926,445 5,203,267 2,723,178

2012 2 7,798,407 5,192,686 2,605,721

2013 2 8,033,804 5,187,873 2,845,931

2014 2 8,048,884 5,240,034 2,808,850

2015 2 8,214,473 5,255,593 2,958,880

Table 2.2 shows the distribution of labour force for selected years by gender. The female labour

force is lower than the male labour force. However, it is clear (in Table 2.1) that female working

age population is higher than that of males. Therefore, the labour force participation rate is

comparatively lower for females. This is clearly depicted in Table 2.3.


7

2.1.2.3 Distribution of Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)

Labour Force Participation Rate is defined as the percentage of the current “economically active

population” or the “labour force” to the total working age population. There is no significant

changes in Labour Force Participation Rate over the period from 2008 to 2015. It is clear that

male labour force participation rate is two times bigger than the female rate. The lower female

participation affects total participation rate. This shows that still in Sri Lanka a significant

percentage of females do not enter the workforce. However, to use the demographic dividend

more effectively, the main potential for increasing labour supply lies with bringing more women

into the workforce.

Table 2.3: Labour Force Participation Rate by sex

Year Labour Force Participation Rate (%)

Total Male Female

2008 1 55.1 76.1 36.6

2009 1 54.1 74.7 36.2

2010 1 53.4 75.0 34.4

2011 2 52.9 74.0 34.3

2012 2 52.5 74.9 32.9

2013 2 53.7 74.9 35.4

2014 2 53.2 74.6 34.6

2015 2 53.8 74.7 35.9


8

Figure 2.1 Economically active and inactive population by age group - 2015

0

20

40

60

80

100

15

- 1

9

20

- 2

4

25

- 2

9

30

- 3

4

35

- 3

9

40

- 4

4

45

- 4

9

50

- 5

4

55

- 5

9

60

- 6

4

65

- 6

9

70

- 7

4

75

- 7

9

80+

Per

cen

tage

Age group (Years)

Economically active Economically inactive


The statistics further reveals that the entering age to the labour force is around twenty

while the retiring age is around age 60 (Figure 2.1) for the country. The overall picture is more

relevant to male distribution. The distribution for females is much different as given in Figure 2.2.

Among females only those who are in age group 40-49 show higher economically active

percentage than the inactive percentage. From the Figure 2.2 it is clear that still many of Sri

Lankan women yet have not entered to the labour market. Further DCS report reveals that reasons

for being inactive are different for gender and for different age groups. For example many of the

youths (Age 15-24) are inactive due to engaging in studies while among women main reason for

inactivity is engagement in household activities.

Figure 2.2: Economically active and inactive female population by age group - 2015

15

-19

20

-24

25

-29

30

-34

35

-39

40

-44

45

-49

50

-54

55

-59

60

-64

65

-69

70

-74

75

-79

80

AN

D A

BO

VE

Perc

en

tage

Age group

Female Economically Active Female Economically Inactive

Source: Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

9

Table 2.4: Percentage distribution of inactive population by stated reasons, age group and

gender – 2015

Reason for being inactive Age Group

15 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 54 55 & over

Male

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Engaged in studies 88.9 27.8 1.2 0.1

Engaged in housework 3.6 13.5 18.7 5.0

Retired/Old age 0.2 1.2 14.3 73.8

Physically illness/Disabled 2.4 17.3 43.7 19.0

Other 4.8 40.2 22.1 2.1

Female

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Engaged in studies 65.4 4.5 0.6 0.4

Engaged in housework 29.5 87.3 90.6 43.3

Retired/Old age 0.2 0.3 1.7 46.8

Physically illness/Disabled 1.6 1.8 4.4 8.5

Other 3.3 6.1 2.7 1.0


The above Table 2.4 clearly shows that the reason for being inactive is different for different age

groups and also it differs by gender. Age 15-24 is the youth population. More inactive male

youths compared with female youths are studying. However females in 25-34 age group are

inactive due to housework. It is important to identify that in this age group about 17.3 percent of

males are inactive due to a physical illness or disability. Similar picture is seen in the age group

35-54. However, among the 55 and above many are inactive due to retirement, old age, or

disability.

The data show that in Sri Lanka still the female is mainly responsible for household

chores. In addition women are more likely than men to assume care responsibilities for elderly or

dependent family members with long-term care needs and are thus far more likely to reduce their

working hours or exit employment altogether. So for them to be economically active, they need

much more support to manage these household activities. Therefore in order to bring females into

the labour force, the country needs flexible working arrangements.

10

Create an appropriate legal framework for work-life balance such as well-designed

and accessible leave arrangements that can be equitably shared between parents,

affordable and high quality childcare, and long-term care.

Sri Lanka is comparatively a well-educated country and there is no gender discrimination

in education. Following statistics in Table 2.5 show the levels of education within the inactive

group and these should be considered when job opportunities are created.

Table 2.5: Economically inactive population by level of education - 2015

2.2 Employment

2.2.1 Current employment distribution of the country

To identify the gaps and the opportunities available in the country‟s labour market, it is important

to understand all aspects of the current labour force of the country. Labour Force comprises an

employed and unemployed population. During the reference period, persons who worked as paid

employees, employers, own account workers or contributing family workers were said to be

employed. This also includes persons with a job but not at work during the reference period.

The following Table 2.6 shows the employment distribution over the period from 2008

onward. Statistics reveal that around 7.8 million persons were employed in 2015. Over the period

from 2011 to 2015 the employed population has increased from 7.6 million to 7.8 million. Out of

these employed persons, about 5.1 million are males and nearly 2.7 million are females in 2015.

Level of Education Total Gender

Male Female

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Grade 5 and below 19.9 19.3 20.0

Grade 6 - 10 44.8 43.0 45.5

G.C.E.(O/L) 23.1 25.7 22.2

G.C.E.(A/L) & above 12.2 12.0 12.3

11

This shows that male-female gap is very high and male employed population is almost twice that

of females.

Table 2.6: Distribution of Employment by gender

The employment rates calculated as the proportion of employed population to the respective

labour force population are shown below in Table 2.7. The statistics reveal that the employment

rates separately for male and female are above 90 percent. That implies many of those who are

included in the labour force are currently employed.

Table 2.7: Distribution of Employment Rate by gender

Year Employment

Total Male Female

2008 1 7,628,683 5,018,954 2,609,729

2009 1 7,579,835 4,949,825 2,630,010

2010 1 7,696,142 5,125,763 2,570,379

2011 2 7,591,591 5,061,214 2,530,377

2012 2 7,488,704 5,046,057 2,442,647

2013 2 7,681,279 5,024,341 2,656,938

2014 2 7,700,489 5,075,425 2,625,064

2015 2 7,830,976 5,097,798 2,733,178


Year Employment

Total Male Female

2008 1 94.6 96.3 91.6

2009 1 94.1 95.7 91.4

2010 1 95.1 96.5 92.3

2011 2 95.8 97.3 92.9

2012 2 96.0 97.2 93.7

2013 2 95.6 96.8 93.4

2014 2 95.7 96.9 93.5

2015 2 95.3 97.0 92.4


12

Figure 2.3: Employment Rate by Age group and Gender - 2015

97

.0

83

.4

98.7

98.4

92

.4

72

.6

95

.2

94

.2

95

.3

79

.2

97

.5

96

.8

15 and over Youth (15 – 24) Adult (25 & over) Prime age(25 – 54)

Total Male Female

2.2.2 The employment to population ratio

The employment-to-population ratio is a macroeconomic statistic that indicates the ratio of the

labor force currently employed to the total working-age population of a country. It is calculated

by dividing the number of people employed by the total number of people of working age. This

ratio is not as affected by seasonal variations or short-term fluctuations in the labor market. As a

result, it is frequently considered to be a more reliable indicator of job shrinkage or growth than

the unemployment number in particular. The following Figure 2.4 shows the employment to

population ratio for different age categories in 2015.

Figure 2.4: Employment to population ratio by age group and gender - 2015

51.2

26.7

56.9

66

.572.4

35.7

81

.4

93

.4

33.1

18

.3

36

.4 43

.8

15 and over Youth (15 – 24) Adult (25 & over) Prime age(25 – 54)Total Male Female

13

The above figures show the distribution of employment rate and employment to population ratio

for different age categories. This need to be considered in terms too of the labour force

participation rate, which is much less than it should be, in particular with regard to women and

young people. Thus, while the percentages of employed of those in the labour force are

reasonable, this table shows that there is significant unemployment amongst women and young

people in relation to the whole population, and extremely worrying unemployment amongst

young women. It may be necessary therefore to radically rehaul our education system so as to

develop better attitudes to employment amongst women and youngsters.

Unwillingness to enter the labour market is more problematic than persisting

unemployment in the country and needs to be addressed.

Table 2.8: Percentage distribution of employed population by employment status

Year Employee Employer

Own

account

worker

Contributing

Family

worker

2008 1 56.5 2.9 30.3 10.3

2009 1 57.7 2.6 29.2 10.4

2010 1 55.5 2.6 31.5 10.3

2011 2 55.1 2.9 31.5 10.6

2012 2 56.5 2.8 31.9 8.7

2013 2 55.7 3.0 32.2 9.1

2014 2 56.4 2.7 32.0 8.9

2015 2 56.1 3.1 32.3 8.4

More than half of the employed are employees either in private or public sector. Own

account workers, who are considered self-employed entrepreneurs with no employees, account for

one third of the employed population. The employers account for only about three percent and

contributing family workers, usually who support a family business without any payments, are

about eight percent. The pattern is same for the previous years considered. Though the overall

picture is like that more details such as public/private, informal/formal distributions are important.


14

Table 2.9: Employed population by employment status and by gender- 2015

Employment

status

Total Gender

Male Female

No % No % No %

Total 7,830,976 100.0 5,097,798 100.0 2,733,178 100.0

Employee 4,396,837 56.1 2,890,784 56.7 1,506,053 55.1

Public 1,182,914 15.1 654,132 12.8 528,783 19.3

Private 3,213,923 41.0 2,236,652 43.9 977,271 35.8

Employer 242,995 3.1 211,814 4.2 31,181 1.1

Own account

worker 2,531,081 32.3 1,849,931 36.3 681,149 24.9

Contributing

family worker 660,064 8.4 145,270 2.8 514,794 18.8


About 15 percent of the total employments are public sector employees and about 41 percent are

private sector employees. Table 2.9 shows the distribution clearly. When the male female

percentage distributions are considered only public sector employee and contributing family

worker categories show higher female percentages compared to male.

Figure 2.6: Employed Population by Level of Education (2011 – 2015)


The level of education of the employed population shows the level of human capital achieved by

the employed population. Statistics reveal that there was a tendency for the proportion of G.C.E.

15

(A\L) and above educational category during the last decade to increase. Also grade 5 & below

category has declined. However, it is very important to note that majority of the employed

persons that is about 50 percent, have grade 6-10 level of education.

Table 2.10: Employed population by age group and level of education - 2015

Age

group

Level of education

Total Grade 5 &

Below

Grades 6 -

10

G.C.E

(O\L)

G.C.E

(A\L) &

above

15-19 3.3 73.7 19.8 3.2 100.0

20-24 2.8 49.6 24.0 23.6 100.0

25-29 3.9 45.4 20.1 30.6 100.0

30-34 6.3 49.2 19.6 25.0 100.0

35-39 9.5 51.6 17.4 21.4 100.0

40+ 25.0 45.0 15.4 14.6 100.0

Total 16.7 47.4 17.3 18.6 100.0

Source: Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

Above table shows that a considerable segment of the older cohort (40+) has a lower level of

education. However, it is important to note that in all age groups age twenty and above, more than

fifty percent of employed have less than G.C.E. (O/L) qualifications. Age 15-19 can still be in

education.

16

Table 2.11: Distribution of Employment by Occupation groups 2013 -2015

*Not represent fully since LFS is a household survey

As given in the Table 2.11, the distribution of employed population over the period of past three

years shows a similar pattern. The highest percentage is in elementary occupations, followed by

skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery workers, craft and related trades workers and services

and sales workers. In general these occupations are less skilled occupations. However using only

this international classification does not give a full picture given the different occupations put

together in single categories.

2.2.3 Visible underemployment among employed population

Available statistics on visible underemployment reflects the underutilization of the productive

capacity of the labour force of the country. In Sri Lanka time related underemployment or visible

underemployment measures the employed who worked less than 35 hours per week (cut off) and

are ready to work more hours.

Occupation group 2013 2014 2015

Managers, Senior Officials and Legislators 4.8 4.6 6.1

Professionals 6.3 6.4 6.5

Technicians and Associate Professionals 5.8 5.8 6.0

Clerks and Clerical support workers 3.7 4.3 4.0

Services and Sales workers 11.0 11.7 10.9

Skilled Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery workers 19.4 20.3 18.6

Craft and Related Trades workers 17.0 17.1 16.2

Plant and Machine operators and Assemblers 8.3 8.3 8.6

Elementary occupations 23.1 21.2 22.6

Armed Forces Occupations* & unidentified

occupations 0.6 0.4 0.5

Total 100 100 100


17

Figure 2.7: Underemployment rate by major industry group – 2015

4.6

2.3

1.6

2.7

Agriculture Industry Services Total


Above figure 2.7 clearly indicates that underemployment in agriculture sector is high. Therefore,

it is required to pay more attention to agriculture sector skills development.

2.3 Unemployment

2.3.1 Unemployed Population and their characteristics

The unemployment rate is one of the most widely cited and closely monitored economic

indicators. Unemployment is a key measure of economic health. It is a major factor in

determining how healthy an economy is. If the economy maximized efficiency, everyone would

be employed at some wage. An individual unemployed is both unproductive and a drain on

society‟s resources. Unemployment is a powerful statistic that shapes government policy and

personal decisions2 a. Generally, low unemployment rates show a good economic health of a

country. However, the unemployment rates of many developing countries are lower than those of

industrialized countries. Hence, some studies explain the unemployment measure as only one

aspect of the employment problem of a given country2.3.2 Unemployment Indicators and

Trends: Annual Unemployment Rates

2 Classical and Keynesian economic explanations for unemployment, Michael Griffiths (2007)

18

Table 2.12: Annual Unemployment rate 1990 -2015

Year Number of

Unemployed

Unemployment rate as a % of the total labour

force

Both sexes Male Female

1990 953,794 15.9 11.1 23.4

1995 749,021 12.3 9.0 18.7

2000 517,168 7.6 5.8 11.0

2010 1

400,335 4.9 3.5 7.7

20112 334,854 4.2 2.7 7.1

20122 309,703 4.0 2.8 6.3

20132 352,526 4.4 3.2 6.6

20142 348,395 4.3 3.1 6.5

20152 383,496 4.7 3.0 7.6

Source : Annual Reports of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

The unemployment rate which is calculated as the percentage of unemployed population

to the labour force is an important labour market indicator. As given in the above table 2.12, it is

clear that over the period of two and a half decades the unemployment rate of the country has

declined remarkably. That is, the total unemployment rate, 15.9 percent in 1990 has fallen to 4.7

percent in 2015. However, during the recent five years period, the overall rate has been

fluctuating between four to five percent. Further the current unemployment rate (4.7 % in 2015)

shows that about one out of twenty in the labour force is not employed and they are seeking and

available for a job. Above data further reveal that unemployment is more than two times higher

among females than males. These findings can be explained further by looking into details of

unemployment distribution by different population characteristics.

19

2.3.3 Distribution of Unemployment by Different Population Characteristics

Table 2.13: Unemployment rate by age group and gender – 2015

Age group

(Years) Total

Gender

Male Female

Total 4.7 3.0 7.6

15 - 24 20.8 16.6 27.4

25 - 29 9.4 4.4 17.5

30 - 39 3.1 1.6 5.7

Over 40 1.0 0.6 1.8


Distribution of unemployment is different by gender and for different age groups. As

given in Table 2.13 the unemployment is severe among youth (15-24) and it is about 21 percent.

However, this phenomenon is similar in many other countries too. The youths who decide to

enter the labour force after the compulsory education or after completing the school/university

education are comprised in this population.

Those who are just entering to the labour force usually have no job experience and most

of them still depend on their parents/guardians for living expenses and hence are searching and

waiting for suitable jobs. Table 2.13 clearly shows that the female unemployment in all age

groups is significantly higher than that of males. Further it is important that even among the

female labour force in age group 25-29 about 17.5 percent are unemployed and that is about four

times higher than that of males.

20

Figure 2.8: Unemployment rate by level of education – 2015


The level of education is an important factor for both labour supply and labour demand.

Figure 2.7 clearly depicts that the unemployment rates increase with the level of education in Sri

Lanka. Elsewhere in general, the problem of unemployment is lower among educated

population. However, in Sri Lanka unemployment problem is more acute among educated

population. This is because the youths are the majority within the unemployed population and

the level of education among these young cohorts who are entering the labour force is higher.

Hence, the majority of unemployed are educated youths. Also the educated female

unemployment is significantly high and therefore the country needs effective policies to

overcome the situation. The Department of Census and Statistics further analysed the youth

unemployment in Labour Force Survey 2015.

2.3.3.1: Distribution of Youth Unemployment

In Sri Lanka though the overall unemployment rate is lower (less than 5%) the youth (age 15-24)

unemployment is high (20.8%). Youth unemployment could lead to lack of innovation arising

through delays in attracting renewed thinking by school or university leavers. Youth

unemployment would also have long term negative effects such as skill deficiencies and

increased ineffective use of public spending on education and skill development. Effective and

efficient utilization of the talents of these young individuals should be considered in order to

achieve increased productivity and to sustain long term economic growth. The following Figure

2.8 shows the distribution of youth unemployment rates by gender over a five years period. It has

shown a slight increasing trend over the years.

21

Figure 2.9: Youth unemployment rate by gender from 2011-2015


In 2015 the annual report of the Labour Force Survey shows that youth unemployment of

the country is significantly higher than adult unemployment. However, ILO reports explain that

when the proportion of youth unemployment to the total youth population is less than five

percent policy makers do not pay much attention to youth unemployment. In Sri Lanka the

proportion of youth unemployment to the youth population is seven percent, a little higher than

five. Therefore when youth labour market of the country is considered, only unemployment is

not enough to explain the current labour market slack.

2.3.3.2: Youths not in Employment, Education or Training

The NEET indicator (Youth Not in Employment, Education or Training) published in 2015 by

the DCS is also very important. NEET rates capture the non-utilized labour potential of the

population and can also be used to identify vulnerable individuals. However, it does not measure

the characteristics behind the NEET group, such as diverse experiences, problems and

difficulties, needs, or distinct choices made.

22

Table 2.14: Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) by gender, 2011-2015

Gender 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Male 197,940 183,929 241,183 242,421 224,501

Female 546,497 523,749 547,092 547,749 510,049

Total 744,437 707,678 788,275 790,170 734,550

Source: Annual Report 2015 of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

The estimated value for NEET in 2015 is about 0.7 million. They can be unemployed, not

engaged in education and also currently not attending to any training. Some unemployed youths

who have successfully completed formal professional/technical training are not actively

searching for jobs which may indirectly indicate idling or disappointed youth labour force in the

country‟s labour market.

2.3.4 Formal professional/ technical training and unemployment

Further Labour Force survey data allows us to analyse the trainings completed by different

population groups, in the working age population. As given in the Table 2.15, it is clear that

lowest percentage of having completed training is reported from the inactive population (5.9%).

Unemployed are the group with highest percentage with a completed training. Also it is clear that

even within the NEET group, 12.7% has completed training.

23

Table 2.15: Percentage distribution of persons successfully completed a formal

professional/ technical training in 2015

Training

Percentage of persons successfully completed a formal professional/

technical training

Age 15 &

above

Population

Labour

Force Inactive Unemployed Employed NEET

Successfully

completed a

formal

professional/tech

nical training

9.7 13.1 5.9 29.7 12.3 12.7

Not completed a

formal

professional/tech

nical training

90.3 86.9 94.1 70.3 87.7 87.3

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey –Authors calculation

Within the unemployed who have not completed training, there were reported a number

of reasons for them not to have training. The following Figure 2.9 shows the reason that the

unemployed persons revealed for not having completed a formal professional/ technical training.

24

Figure 2.10: Distribution of reasons an unemployed for not having completed a

formal professional/ technical training -2015

Thinking that the current higher

educational

qualifications are sufficient For having

a job

12%

Does not feel the need of having such

training to find a job

26%

Financial difficulties to get a suitable

formal trainin

11%

Unavailability of training projects or

institutions to get a

proper training In their living area

5%

Currently having a training

5%

Does not feel the need

35%

Other (specify)6%


Majority of unemployed who have not completed training explained the reason as they

“do not feel the need of having training” (35%) and another 26 % explained that they “do not

feel the need of having such training to find a job”. Therefore, it is important to have regular

information especially for youth on job market and training required for employment, in addition

to their level of education.

2.3.5 Computer Literacy among unemployed

One of the basic needs to obtain a job is computer literacy. Available statistics on computer

literacy give only basic computer literacy among the population, no detailed literacy information

is available.

25

Table 2.16: Distribution of Computer literacy among unemployed population (aged 15 – 69

years) by age group – 2014 & 2015

Age group (years)

Computer literate population

Literate (%)

2014 2015

Sri Lanka 69.5 72.6

15 – 19 66.3 58.2

20 – 24 76.0 80.7

25 – 29 74.5 78.9

30 – 39 63.9 62.5

40 – 69 36.9 54.5

Source: Annual Report 2015 of Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, DCS

The above table 2.16 shows that the computer literacy among unemployed is about 73%

in 2015. This figure differs with age. However, a significant computer literacy is observed

among unemployed specially among the age group 20-29. However, since the survey does not

provide in depth information on computer literacy such as level of computer skill, only a rough

picture is available about whether at least these literate people can operate a computer by

themselves.

Steps taken by unemployed to find a job

The Labour force survey collects data on steps taken to find a job by unemployed

persons. Following table 2.17 shows the distribution of the different steps taken for two survey

years 2014 and 2015.

26

Table 2.17: Percentage distribution of cases reported on the steps taken by the unemployed

persons to find/start a job/self-employment 2014-2015

Steps Taken to Find a Job

Percentage to the cases

reported

2014 2015

Registered for a government job 11.2 11.0

Registered in private sector Institutions/Internet 13.5 16.2

Replying for advertisements in government

gazette/newspapers/ Publishing advertisements 24.4 23.2

Inquiring from persons with public sector/ private sector

job contacts/ Friends/ relations 39.7 37.5

Taking action to find financial and other resources to

start self-employment 7.9 8.6

Other (specify) 3.3 3.5

Total cases 100.0 100.0


When the steps taken to find a job are analysed for unemployed population, the highest

cases reported are “Inquiring from persons with public sector/ private sector job contacts/

friends/ relations”. This is true for both years and about 37% of cases in 2015. In 2015, only

about 8.6% of cases reported that they took action to find financial and other resources to start

self-employment.

2.3.6 Expected employment status among unemployed population

The survey data is available on expected employment of the unemployment. Such employment

status was observed as self-employment, paid employment and any employment. The

expectation can be further analysed with the level of education and age in order to see some part

of mismatches in the labour market.

27

Figure 2.11: Expected employments among the unemployed -2015


As shown in Figure 2.10 about 68% of the unemployed are expecting paid employment

while 19% expect any employment. However, above preferences can be changed depending on

the age, level of education and some other characteristics of the person.

Figure 2.12: Percentage distribution of expected employments among the

unemployed by level of education - 2015


Above figure 2.11 shows that when the level of education increases among unemployed

they want to have paid employment. In contrast those with lower levels of education are more

28

like to start self-employment. Therefore, it reveals that most unemployed youths who are

entering the labour force with higher level of education prefer to have paid employment.

In general, in the current job market both level of education as well as experiences are

required for formal sector paid employments. Hence youths who have higher level of education

and who prefer paid employment may have a chance to enter formal sector paid employment.

However, the youth with lower level of education might end up as informal employees.

The unemployed who wish to start self-employment were further questioned about their

expectation of support for basic needs. As per the figure 2.12, 81 % of them expect some support

for their basic needs and around 46 % of them expected a loan facility (As per figure 2.13)

Figure 2.13: Status of expected support who wish to start self-employment -2015

29

Figure 2.14: Percentage distribution of expected support who wish to start a self-

employment -2015

On considering all this information on unemployed it is clear that the unemployed have

heterogenic characteristics and depending on their skills they need different solutions. Hence,

efficient policy making must consider these variations in depth.

2.4 Summary

1. The percentages of the male and female population between 15-24 year age group

engaged in housework are 3.6% and 29.5% respectively (table 2.4). Due to the present

government policy every youth should sit the Advanced Level examination. However,

the existing number of population in this age group who are dropouts or completed

education and are engaging in housework is considerable. To address this group Industry

Sector Councils (ISCs) developed three months short courses. The training providers

should target this segment to provide vocational training to obtain basic jobs. They can

follow higher training courses on their interests while working.

30

2. Working age male population is 46% of total working age population and female is 54%

(table 2.1). Economically active male labour force is 64% of total labour force and female

percentage is 36% (table 2.2). Considering these figures, the TVET policy makers should

highly work to find out the interested jobs of the female working age population. The

employment status of both males and females in public and private sector employment is

relatively parallel (table 2.9). According to this information the interested employment

status of female workforce cannot be decided. Therefore, finding the interested

occupations by gender is most important.

3. The male employment in 2015 is almost twice the female employment (table 2.6). This

also reveals that female participation is vital to enhance the economic development of the

country. Further, annual unemployment rate of the female population is 7.6 in 2015 and

this figure is more than twice of male unemployment rate (table 2.12). The policy makers

should introduce mechanisms to increase female participation. It could be short term

training which can result in producing at home to contribute to the country economy. The

larger enterprises also can be encouraged to obtain females for their sub productions. This

method can be popularized through ISCs. ICT, Garment Industry and Hotel Sector are

some of the possible sectors.

4. A considerable percentage of physically ill/disabled / inactive population, the percentage

71.2 of the total inactive population in 15-54 age group, can be absorbed to the labour

force in different ways according to their skills and interest (table 2.4). Several computer

applications are available for disabled people and this group can be exposed to the labour

market. As an example, an ICT course with NVQ is available for blind people. More

relevant courses can be introduced by the ISCs.

5. The government employment population is 15.1% of the total employed population and

private employment population is 41% (table 2.9). According to the table 2.8, private

sector employers are 3%. Therefore, giving attention is very important to encourage

people to start job creating enterprises and invite foreign & local investors by giving

concessions

31

Chapter 3

Supply side of Skills Sector

3.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on vocational training of both private and public institutions and highlights

performance of training providers in skills development. The information and analysis is derived

from the Labour Market Information Bulletin published by the TVEC and other secondary data

obtained from relevant institutions.

After the year 2000, TVET sector has diversified their activities, accelerated the progress

and increased the number of training institutions. The number of training providers registered

under the TVEC in the year 2015 was 417 which consisted of 234 private and 183 public sector

institutes. The number of courses accredited by TVEC in the country in 2015 was 1,128. Under

the National Vocational Qualification system (NVQ), 44,148 NVQ certificates have been issued

to students by the TVEC during the year 2015 and a total of 165,508 certificates covering all

levels have been issued from 2006 to 2015 by the TVEC.

3.1.1 Performance of Training Providers of Skills Development

Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission

The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) was established in 1991 as the apex

body in the technical and vocational education and training sector under the provisions of the

Tertiary and Vocational Education Act No 20 of 1990. Its primary responsibility is policy

32

formulation, planning, quality assurance, coordination and development of tertiary and

vocational education in the country. Its vision is "A Sri Lanka where all citizens have access to

the highest possible standards of tertiary and vocational education and training which meet the

human resource development needs of the country". The mission is “As the apex body in the

TVET sector, committed to establish and maintain an efficient and effective technical education

and vocational training system which is relevant to socio economic goals and changing market

needs".

Followings are the objectives of TVEC

To develop, review, and reformulate national policies on tertiary and vocational

education and training,

To formulate plans for the development of tertiary and vocational education and training

sector

To implement the national system of quality assurance through registration of institutes

and accreditation of training courses

To ensure the establishment and maintenance of standards by TVET institutions

To plan and coordinate the implementation of national trade testing and certification

system

To develop and maintain a national system of vocational qualifications

To maintain the labour market information system for the TVET sector

To develop TVET institutes through management development programmes and

financial assistance

To promote parity of esteem between education & training

3.1.2 Current Status of TVET Institutional Framework

Though there had been public, NGO and Private training centres providing vocational training

since the early 20th

century, public TVET institutions have been playing the dominant role in

Skills Development in Sri Lanka. According to the Tertiary and Vocational Education Act No

20 of 1990, all vocational training centres are required to be registered with TVEC and it

33

facilitates award of NVQ qualifications through accreditation of courses conducted by training

centres of public, private and NGO sectors.

Training Institutions under Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training are

listed below.

i. Department of Technical Education and Training ( DTET ) with 39 Colleges of

Technology and Technical Colleges

ii. National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority ( NAITA ) with 4 National

Training Institutes and district inspectorates to facilitate apprenticeship.

iii. Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka ( VTA ) with 245 training centres at

national, district and rural levels.

iv. Ceylon – German Technical Training Institute ( CGTTI)

v. Ocean University of Sri Lanka with 8 training centres along the coastal belt

vi. Sri Lanka Institute of Printing

vii. National Institute of Business Management

viii. University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) established in 2008 to facilitate

awarding of degree qualifications for trainees in Technical and Vocational Education

and Training

In addition to above public agencies, many other public sector agencies and provincial

councils have established a number of training institutes and most of their courses are accredited

by TVEC enabling them to award NVQ qualifications. Some of the leading training providers

under other Ministries are listed below.

i. National Youth Services Council (NYSC ) with island wide network of training centres

ii. Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technical Education

iii. Construction Equipment Training Centre (CETRAC) of Construction Industry

Development Authority

iv. Sri Lanka Institute of Hotel and Tourism Management

v. Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel

vi. Schools of Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture

vii. Training centres of the Department of Animal Production and Health

viii. Gem and Jewellery Research and Training Institute

34

In addition to these public sector training centres, there are a large number of Private and

NGO sector TVET institutions. Whatever the ownership of these institutes is, NVQ system

facilitates all these institutes to award NVQ as a standard qualification.

3.1.3 Evolution of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Sri

Lanka

Sri Lanka had a very high standard of skills in construction, crafts, architecture and hydraulic

technologies during ancient times. Skills were taught by father to son or by an elder relative to a

younger relative to ensure a regular supply of skilled artisans. This system may have broken

down during the period Sri Lanka came under colonial rule, due to a change in the pattern of

skills required in a colonial society with emphasis on the need of the colonial administration for

producing the manpower needed for the lower level white collar jobs. Formal Technical and

Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as we know of it today, had its beginnings in 1893

when the first Technical College was established in Maradana to train skilled workers needed for

the development of physical infrastructure such as the laying of railway lines and the

construction of roads.

The period after independence (1948) saw a renewed interest in the development of skills

required for achieving the development objectives of a newly emergent nation. Accordingly

actions had been taken to establish the Hardy Technical College, Ampara, Ceylon Germen

Technical Training College, Katubedda and a network of technical colleges.

However, this expansion did not have a focus on quality and relevance. Therefore, from

1990 onwards, an attempt has been made to co-ordinate different training institutions to deliver

training with quality and relevance according to a nationally agreed plan. This was symbolized

by the establishment of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), the

regulatory body in TVET sector in 1990, along with the NAITA (National Apprenticeship and

Industrial Training Institute). A separate Ministry for TVET was established in 1994, and the

Vocational Training Authority in 1995. These developments led also to establishment of a

presidential task force in 1995 and establishment of the National Vocational Qualification

(NVQ) framework with Colleges of Technology, University Colleges and University of

Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) to implement NVQ Levels 5, 6 & 7.

35

3.1.4 Innovations and Developments in TVET Sector

3.1.4.1 Development of NVQ Framework

At significant development in the history of TVET Sector in Sri Lanka was the development and

implementation of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Framework. Its 7 level

qualification system as described in the following table.

Table 3.1: 7 level qualification system

Level Qualification Description

Level 1 National Certificate Entry level skills

Level 2 National Certificate Recognize the increasing level of

competencies. Level 4 is the master

craftsman level with ability to apply

skills independently

Level 3 National Certificate

Level 4 National Certificate

Level 5 National Diploma Recognize increasing competencies from

technician to management levels Level 6 Higher National Diploma

Level 7 Bachelor Degree

NVQ qualifications and curricula are prepared by identifying competencies required to

practice a job in industry and students are given levels based on complexity of related work, their

learning difficulties and responsibility shouldered by the job holders when carrying out those

works. Therefore, NVQ is an industry relevant qualification. NVQ is a quality assurance

qualification system as it could be conducted and awarded only by training courses accredited by

TVEC. NVQ is a unified qualification system such as GCE (O/L) and GCE (A/L) and it could

be delivered in any training centre throughout the island with TVEC accreditation.

Development of qualification systems is a global trend in development of TVET Sector

and Sri Lanka is the first country that established a qualification system in south Asian region.

Therefore, delegates from all south Asian countries have visited Sri Lanka to study our NVQ

system and the President signed bilateral agreements with Pakistan and Bangladesh on sharing of

NVQ resources.

36

3.1.4.2 Introduce Performance based Incentive Scheme

TVET Institutions are expected to develop the skills of youth and adults to enable them to find

productive employment in the industry. Therefore, staff of TVET centres should have higher

level of competencies than those of employees in the industry. But the prevailing situation is

completely the opposite. As TVET staff have comparatively lower salary scales than those in

industry, it is difficult to recruit and retain competent staff and induce sufficient motivation level.

In order to offset the issue, the Ministry with the ADB and World Bank assisted Skills Sector

Development Programme (SSDP) has introduced a performance based incentive scheme for

trainers and academic staff of the TVET Institutions. Accordingly, at present, academic staff of

leading institutions are paid a monthly incentive of Rs 8000/= based on their performance in

course accreditation, involvement in their professional development, maintenance of class

capacity and higher completion rate of students in the course, quality of Training delivery, and

use of innovative approaches in teaching. A recent study has revealed some success but the

scheme itself was not systematic and allows for payments on criteria that do not necessarily

contribute to improvement of teaching quality. The fact that centre heads had no idea about

ensuring attendance and also that work was not done by students when teachers were absent

suggests that much more needs to be done to improve management. TVEC has initiated a

Diploma in Centre Management but there is need of incentives to ensure take up of the course

and then follow up to ensure impact. And both VTA and DTET still have massive problems with

regard to recruitment with many cadre positions not being filled. Sadly there is no sense of

urgency about ensuring amendment of Schemes of Recruitment, despite it having been decided

that this was an important goal of the sector skills development project.

3.1.4.3 Establishment of Industry Sector Skills Councils

Many methods are used to identify skill needs of the Industry in order to develop training

programs, but TVET Providers are criticized often for failing to meet Industry expectations. In

fact, ever since Vocational Training commenced „off the job‟ training centres, there have been

continuous dialogues and debates over bridging the gaps between Skills Supply from Vocational

Training Institutes and Skills demanded by Industry. During the period of the pre-industrial

revolution, there was no issue of such skills gaps as skills development had occurred within the

37

industry itself through workplace learning or apprenticeship. In the post – industrial revolution

period, the expansion of industry had been so fast that apprenticeship; a slow mode of skills

development, failed to train sufficient numbers. As a result, skills development also had shifted

to vocational schools but since then the skills gap has become an issue.

Under NVQ framework, many measures explained below have been taken to identify skills

needs of industry and to develop training programmes to bridge skills gaps.

Develop Occupational or National Competency Standards to identify skills needs of

respective occupations. Competencies thus identified are packaged to form NVQ

qualifications.

National Competency Standards and Curricula are developed with industry participation

and they are validated by Industry advisory committees

Some courses are delivered in dual training mode which facilitate trainees to have part of

the training at a training centre and a part of the training in the industry.

On the Job training was made compulsory for NVQ Level 4 and above courses and OJT

has now been made compulsory also for all NVQ level 3 courses, though it was not

provided at this level in recent years.

NVQ level 5, 6 and 7 are delivered in English medium as supervisory jobs need skills in

usage of English language.

Services of National Industrial Advisory Committees consisting of industry representatives,

appointed by NAITA were taken in all above endeavours. But this was very much on an ad hoc

basis, and there were constant complaints from industry about the inadequacy of the curricula

developed on this system.

Modern Mechanism of Industry Collaboration

Under the previous collaboration models, industry plays a passive role. TVET institutions

usually decide the matters and times that need industry consultations and consult few

industrialists they select. In fact, under conventional collaboration, broader industry is not

represented. In order to improve this scenario, industry is expected to be proactive with wider

representation and highlight the skills issues and skills needs even before being asked by TVET

institutions. For that purpose, many countries have established Industry Sector Skills Councils

38

as industry owned, industry led and industry managed entities to work on industry intelligence

required for skills development. India for instance has established about 34 Industry Sector

Skills Councils (ISSC). Going along in that direction of development, the Ministry of Skills

Development and Vocational Training with ADB and World Bank assistance has already

established four ISSCs. ISSCs for Construction, ICT, Manufacturing and Engineering Services

have already commenced their operations and the Council for Tourism Industry is getting ready

to commence its operations.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector is usually defined as a

system of TVET institutions. However, TVET institutions alone cannot complete the full skills

development cycle of any person. Therefore, TVET Sector should be identified as TVET

institutions teamed up with industries. It is hoped that ISSCs will facilitate the amalgamation of

TVET institutions with industry thus minimizing the skills gaps and meeting the skills needs of

the industry while helping youth to realize their employment aspirations.

3.1.5 Training Purchase model

Though there have been public, private and NGO sector training providers since the inception of

formal vocational training in early 1990s, the public sector has fast grown due to continuous

investments by the government. With the development of NVQ Framework, private and NGO

sector training providers were facilitated to award NVQ through accreditation of courses. In

order to exploit full potential of private sector and industry participation in skills development,

the Ministry with the ADB and World Bank assisted SSDP has developed a scheme to purchase

training from private and NGO training centres. Public training centres outside the purview of

the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training and industry also could take part in

this scheme. The Ministry will decide the number of training places to be purchased considering

shortages of skilled crafts persons in respective occupations in consultation with ISSCs.

Training purchases will be done through competitive bidding and bidders are required to submit

price quotations for all activities from enrolment of students through skills training to their job

placement. The Ministry has already finalized two rounds of bidding and awarded contracts for

training of about 1000 youth. Though pilot schemes have not proved entirely successful, with

39

numbers lower than anticipated, it is hoped that a better publicized and organized system could

be a turning point in increasing private sector and industry participation in skills development.

3.1.6 Free of Charge Training Delivery

Though general education and higher education are offered free of charge as a policy, some

government TVET institutions charged fees for some courses. Charging of course fees seemed

at variance with a principle accepted by government, that “No person should be unemployed due

to lack of quality and relevance of and accessibility to TVET system”

Hon Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training,

therefore decided that all full time courses delivered by institutions under the Ministry should be

free of charge. The policy was introduced in 2017, and may make up for the failure, despite a

heavy social marketing campaign in 2016, to substantially increase enrolment in courses where

employment opportunities are available. Initial figures suggest the new policy, along with the

introduction of short term courses, has had a positive impact, though this will require greater

explication in the next Skills Development Report.

Table 3.2: Number of newly Registered (including renewal) TVET Institutions under

Public and Private Sectors

Year Training Centre

2010 255

2011 398

2012 469

2013 417

2014 593

2015 417

Source: TVEC

40

Table 3.3: Number of Accredited Courses (New & Renewal) in each Year

Year Total

2013 729

2014 1478

2015 1128

Source: TVEC

Table 3.4: Training Performance of TVEC Registered Public and Private Sector Training

Institutes in 2015

Sector No. No. Recruited No. Completed

% Male Female Total Male Female Total

Public No. 70162 47159 117321 48664 35888 84552

% 59.8 40.2 100.0 57.6 42.4 100.0

Private No. 29764 26336 56100 15763 15138 30901

% 53.1 46.9 100.0 51.0 49.0 100.0

Public and Private No. 99926 73495 173421 64427 51026 115453

% 57.6 42.4 100.0 55.8 44.2 100.0

Source: TVEC; *Data from 273 of 640 registered private sector training institutes

* On the job training and In-plant training of NAITA are not included.

* Both full time and part time courses are included.

The number of students recruited and the number of students who completed the courses

conducted by the public and private sector training institutes are shown in Table 3.3. The above

table shows that approximately three fourth of the total students who completed TVET courses

were from public sector institutions in year 2015.

3.2 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Certification

The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission has taken steps to introduce the National

Vocational Qualification System (NVQ) consisting of 7 Levels in collaboration with

Government, and private and NGO sector Technical Education and Vocational Training

Institutes. The NVQ framework was established in TVET sector in 2004 as an outcome of a

41

Skills Development Project (SDP) during the period 2000 to 2006. During the period 2006 to

2015 over 165,508 certificates have been issued by Government and Private Training Providers.

3.2.1 The Objectives of the NVQ System

Unified qualification framework which is recognized nationally and internationally.

Development of progressive qualifications for career advancement.

Greater alignment to national goals.

Strengthened linkages with industry, commerce and other external stakeholders.

Increased responsiveness to industry competency needs.

Convenient and flexible access for potential trainees.

More proactive education and training strategies.

Improved international linkages and recognition.

Collaboration and rationalization among the training agencies.

Enhanced quality, relevance, performance, effectiveness, efficiency and transparency.

An education and training culture of responsiveness and excellence.

Certification of Levels 1 to 6 is carried out by the TVEC for institutions it registers and for

courses it accredits. Certification at level 7 is carried out by the University of Vocational

Technology (UNIVOTEC). This is done in accordance with nationally recognized and attested

national standards determined by the relevant industries. Competency standard units can be

acquired individually or progressively and lead towards a full award. The NVQSL encourages

flexible skills. NVQ certificates are also issued through, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

under the NVQ frame work of Sri Lanka.

42

Table 3.5: Number of NVQ Certificates issued by Training Provider (2006 – 2015)

Year

Training Provider

Total

CGTTI DTET NAITA NYC NYSC OCU Private SLBFE VTA

2006 109 26 47 77

259

2007 29 881 185 175 359 1,629

2008 325 1,939 609 1,051 4,988 8,912

2009 401 1,931 511 2,676 5,726 11,245

2010 1,225 3,546 350 3,227 4,883 13,231

2011 1,607 3,998 424 3,098 7,445 16,572

2012 1,316 4,588 534 4,534 7,139 18,111

2013 22 2,932 6,085 607 656 9 5,667 615 6,262 22,855

2014 108 3,481 6,196 3,185 720 17 5,201 1,927 7,711 28,546

2015 411 4,171 11,787 5,592 1,244 29 8,566 1,864 10,484 44,148

Total 541 15,596 40,977 9,384 5,280 55 34,195 4,406 55,074 165,508

Source: TVEC

Figure 3.2: Number of NVQ Certificates Issued from 2006 to 2015

The total number of NVQ Certificates issued by TVEC was 259 in the year 2006 and it

rose up to 44,148 in 2015. The number of NVQ Certificates issued increased notably from 2008.

43

Table 3.5-1: Number of NVQ Certificate Holders by Year

Year Gender

Female Male Total

2011 4,194 8,809 13,003

2012 4,653 9,787 14,440

2013 ,520 11,839 18,359

2014 10,008 14,558 24,566

2015 4,413 4,013 8,426

As per table 3.5-1 and corresponding figure 3.3, majority of NVQ certificate holders are

males. Further, it depicts that total number of NVQ certificate holders has increased gradually

over the years.

Table 3.6: Number of NVQ Certificates Issued by Industry Sector (2010 - 2015)

Industry Sector Trade 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Agriculture Hunting

and Forestry

Assistant Factory Officer (Tea) 12

Assistant Field Officer (Tea) 11

Farm Machinery Technology 8 12 7 9

Field Assistant (Agriculture) 84 9 263

Plant Nursery Development

Assistant 44

Total 8 12 84 39 316

Basic Competencies

to Work

Basic Competencies to Work 99 625 3208 5759

Total 99 625 3208 5759

Construction

Aluminium Fabricator 277 341 313 395 363 513

Assistant Quantity Surveyor 6 32 54

Bar Bender 1 13 3 4 72

Construction Craftsman

(Masonry) 757 586 690 538 964 1597

Construction Equipment

Operator 209 135 365 710

Construction Site Supervisor 29 113 155 342

Construction Technology 11 4 57 8 33 18

Drafting Technology 2 13

Draughts person 104 116 63 250

44


Painter (Building) 9 5 9 4 8 87

Quantity Surveying 33

Tiler 2

Wood Craftsman (Building) 178 174 292 172 152 216

Total 1233 1123 1706 1489 2139 3907

Education Pre-School Teacher 20 33 176 326 191

Total 20 33 176 326 191

Electricity, Gas

steam and hot Water

supply

Boiler Operator 2 2 4 1

Electric Motor Winder 122 157 243 119 147 256

Electrician 944 1556 1897 1886 2157 3286

Household Electrical Appliance

Repairer 61 76 119 82 74 69

Plumber 116 280 407 345 342 692

Total 1245 2069 2668 2436 2720 4304

Health and social

work

Bio-Medical Technician 2

Care Giver 65

Dental Surgery Nurse Assistant 12

First Aider 33

Nurse Assistant 89 127 230 139 215 369

Optician

(Ophthalmic/Technician) 15 7 44

Total 89 127 232 154 222 523

Hotels and

Restaurants

Cook 45 26 166 250 533

Room Attendant 7 21 89

Waiter/ Steward 2 46 111 122 336

Total 47 72 284 393 958

Manufacturing

Baker 1224 804 388 705 982 1105

Book Binder 1 17 6

Computer Graphic Designer 211 447 300 347 409 526

Desktop Publisher 3 36 2

Fabric Cutter 9

Fabricator (Metal) 49 44 71 88 71 143

Fitter (General) 3 93 99 243

Food Technology 22 18 1 6

45


Footwear Craftsman 19 24 54 32 95 10

Fruit and Vegetable Processor 6 10 9 61 17 35

Industrial Sewing Machine

Operator 183 117 130 140 269 356

Jewellery Maker (Goldsmith) 17 22 42 52 42 62

Jewellery Stone Setter 9 28 23 17 30

Lapidarist 1 2 2

Machinist 163 372 188 507 432 520

Mechatronics Technology 10 38 44 14 19

Offset Litho Machine Operator 51 28 27 21 13 70

Pattern Maker 8 11 76 64

Printing Machine Mechanic 1

Production Supervisor (Sewing ) 3 24

Production Technology 7 18 5 4

Quality Controller(Apparel

Production) 7 58 100

Radio, TV and Allied Equipment

Repairer 178 265 337 262 270 294

Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Mechanic 434 649 559 785 780 1043

Rubber Processing Machine

Operator 1

Sewing Machine Mechanic 2 9 2 37 68

Tailor 19 60 283 313 511 609

Tool and Die Maker 16 5 5 8

Welder 986 1375 1131 1337 1561 1628

Welding Technology 7 4 4 3

Wood Craftsman (Furniture) 481 648 619 486 579 584

Work Study Officer 5 5 26 34 13

Total 4043 4959 4280 5388 6365 7577

Other Community,

Social and Personal

service activities

Beautician 1023 1395 1882 2125 1160 2903

Domestic Housekeeping

Assistant 745 2107 2009

Gaffer (Film and TV lighting 2

46


person)

Hair Dresser 701 695 957 1156 704 992

Landscaping Technician 106

Make-Up Artist 9 17

Municipal Solid Waste

Operation Assistant 42 76 309 79 83

Physical Fitness Trainer 11 40

Video Editor / Assistant Editor 3 3

Total 1724 2132 2915 4344 4064 6155

Real Estate Renting

and Business

Activities

Clerk (General) 11 70 66 404

Computer Applications Assistant 2599 3533 3009 3954 4294 6307

Computer Hardware Technician 363 464 413 713 733 804

Computer Network Technician 44 6 28 119 182 246

Information and Communication

Technology 82 3 241 44 90 145

Information and Communication

Technology Technician 79 590 1149 1668

Photographer 1 7 4 10

Receptionist 4 13 5

Secretary(Secretarial Practices) 6 53 17 19

Survey Field Assistant 1 1201

Total 3088 4006 3788 5555 6548 10809

Transport, storage

and communication

Heavy Vehicle Operator 6 9 15 84

Rigger 19 10

Store Keeper 29 11 9 38 57

Store Keeper 26

Telecommunication Technician 93 22

Telecommunication Technology 24 8 15 5

Vehicle Serviceman and Interior

Cleaner 70

Total 29 41 26 180 274

Wholesale and

Retail Trade: Repair

of Motor Vehicles

Agricultural Equipment

Mechanic 23

Agricultural Machinery and 9

47


and Personal and

Household Goods

Equipment Mechanic

Automobile Air Conditioning

Mechanic 69 44 19 58 53 86

Automobile Electrician 77 70 108 87 123 280

Automobile Mechanic 1124 1337 1205 1528 1328 1849

Automobile Painter 71 75 111 96 105 163

Automobile Technology 21 47 23 11 49

Automobile Tinker 49 50 85 66 89 130

Construction Equipment

Mechanic 1

Diesel Pump Mechanic 1

Motorcycle Mechanic 373 477 574 413 577 618

Outboard Motor Mechanic 64 24 8


Conditioning Technology 9 21 6 5 19

Three Wheeler Mechanic 7 31 17 27 139

Total 1793 2060 2265 2294 2342 3375

Grand Total 13223 16572 18111 22855 28546 44148

As per above table, the highest number of NVQ certificates were issued by Real Estate

Renting and Business Activities sector including Information and Communication Technology

while the lowest number of NVQ certificates were issued by Education sector in 2015.

Manufacturing sector was the second highest sector which issued NVQ certificates in 2015.

3.3 Training Performance

3.3.1 Department of Technical Education & Training (DTET)

Formal Technical Education commenced in Sri Lanka with the establishment of the Government

Technical School in the year 1893. This was renamed the Ceylon Technical College (CTC)

in1906 and has over this long period produced technically competent persons required for

Government Departments. Over the years various developments have taken place. The

Department of Technical Education & Training, (DTET) which originated with the establishment

48

of the Technical School was upgraded under the Education Act of Sri Lanka to be a grade one

Department in the year 1994. Currently the DTET functions under the Ministry of Skills

Development & Vocational Training.

Presently Technical Education and Training is conducted in Sinhala, Tamil and English

media in 9 Colleges of Technology (COTs) and 30 Technical Colleges (TCs) spread across the

country. All Technical Colleges conduct National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Levels 3-4

and Non NVQ courses, though the Minister has instructed that these be minimized and the DTET

should stop delivering these in areas where NVQ courses are available. Despite a reluctance to

change, efforts are now being made to modernize courses, and also to train future teachers

through a Technology and Education Diploma course which the Minister instructed be launched

in 2016.

Eligible students also enter Colleges of Technology (COTs) located in all nine Provinces

to continue to follow NVQ Levels 05 and 06 courses. The NVQ framework allows the students

to move professionally either laterally and/or vertically, and efforts are now being made to fast

forward access to degrees through UNIVOTEC, as was originally envisaged.

DTET conducts Technological Courses including Automobile Technology, Farm

Machinery Technology, Food Technology, Information & Communication Technology,

Mechatronics, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Technology, Telecommunication, Construction

Technology, Welding Technology and Production Technology. These courses are accredited by

the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC). DTET also has been charged with

teacher training for the sector through a Training Institute which is in the process of being

upgraded, and has been instructed to work closely with industry, though it is still slow in

adapting to a demand driven culture. DTET also subscribes to the Quality Management system

set up by TVEC, and has been urged to also ensure wider ownership of quality assurance in

every institution through the establishment of Quality Steering Committees encompassing

representatives of all stakeholders.

The Vision of DTET is to “Become an International renowned, leading Technical Education

& Training provider” and the Mission is to “Function as a provider of high quality

internationally recognized Technical Education & Training to our valued customers Nationally

& Internationally”. Objectives of the DTET are,

49

To offer facilities of technical education and training both to school leavers and to the

employees in relation to national needs and priorities

To cater to the human resource needs demanded by the economic development of the

country

To give a high quality technical and technological education to those students who miss

university education, but are qualified for higher education

To create employment opportunities by providing training for fruitful economics avenues

To reduce restlessness in society by appropriate human resource development through

technical education and training

To provide competencies leading to self-employment

To direct the youth population to a prosperous future.

The target number of students and the achievements of the DTET from the year 2010 to 2015 is

given in table 3.7

Table 3.7: Recruitment and Completion of DTET (2010 - 2015)

Year No. Recruited No .Completed

Male Female Total Male Female Total

2010 4,488 2,733 7,221 3,368 2,156 5,524

2011 10,245 6,965 17,210 6,573 5,322 11,895

2012 11,146 8,559 19,705 8,905 7,167 16,072

2013 13,178 9,558 22,736 9,228 6,256 15,484

2014 13,163 9,700 22,863 15,061 9,626 24,687

2015 12,040 7,824 19,864 9,230 6,286 15,516

Source: TVEC LMI Bulletin.

The number of students passed out increased from 5,524 in 2010 to 11,895 in 2011 and

thereafter a gradual increase is shown up to 2014. But it has decreased in 2015.

50

Table 3.8: Training Performance of DTET by Field of Study in 2015

Field of Study No. Recruited No .Completed


Building and Construction 5152 1921 7073 3741 1493 5234

Information Communication and

Multimedia Technology 1163 2202 3365 968 1899 2867

Languages 583 1574 2157 424 1260 1684

Electrical, Electronics and

Telecommunication 1576 55 1631 1283 46 1329

Finance Banking and Management 583 960 1543 428 734 1162

Automobile Repair and Maintenance 1214 5 1219 1028 2 1030

Metal and Light Engineering 937 14 951 716 7 723

Office Management 22 503 525 10 355 365

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning 397 2 399 292 2 294

Agriculture Plantation and Livestock 149 205 354 135 186 321

Personal and Community Development 11 225 236 3 178 181

Mechatronics Technology 91 4 95 91 3 94

Wood Related 72 14 86 38 10 48

Food Technology 16 54 70 15 52 67

Art Design and Media 22 37 59 15 26 41

Gem and Jewellery 33 13 46 27 8 35

Leather and Footwear 17 17 34 14 6 20

Textile and Garments 2 19 21 2 19 21

Total 12040 7824 19864 9230 6286 15516

As per table 3.8, the highest number of recruitments was recorded for the Building and

Construction field while the lowest number of recruitments was recorded for the Textile and

Garments field in 2015. Majority (about 61%) of the total recruitments were males in 2015.

Information Communication and Multimedia Technology field was the most demanded field by

females while the Building and Construction field was most demanded field among males.

51

Table 3.9: Training Performance of DTET by Province in 2015

Province No. Recruited No. Completed


Western 2572 1290 3862 1964 1013 2977

Central 1557 1315 2872 1184 1045 2229

Southern 1855 1419 3274 1411 1113 2524

Northern 956 652 1608 762 522 1284

Eastern 2048 1123 3171 1523 948 2471

North Western 933 556 1489 762 459 1221

North Central 550 377 927 424 312 736

Uva 721 619 1340 540 507 1047

Sabaragamua 848 473 1321 660 367 1027

Total 12040 7824 19864 9230 6286 15516

As shown in the above table, majority of recruitments were recorded from Western,

Southern and Eastern provinces in the year 2015. In contrast, the lowest recruitment was

recorded from the North Central province.

52

Table 3.10: Top 10 Courses which recorded the highest Recruitments by Gender in DTET

in 2015

No. Course Name No. Recruited

Male Female Total

1 Information and Communication

Technology Technician 512 1430 1942

2 National Certificate In Technology (civil

Engineering) 1480 325 1805

3 National Certificate In Engineering

Draughtsmanship 850 577 1427

4 National Certificate In English For

Commerce Industry & Further Education) 283 1070 1353

5 National Certificate For Accounting

Technicians 420 753 1173

6 Construction Site Supervisor 710 229 939

7 Diploma In Quantity Surveying

Technology 459 199 658

8 National Certificate In Technology

(Quantity Surveying) 424 225 649

9 Certificate In Communication English For

Job Seekers 137 455 592

10 Assistant Quantity Survey 422 144 566

As per table 3.10, the highest number of recruitments was recorded for the Information

and Communication Technology Technician course in 2015. Of these recruitments majority

(73.6 %) were females.

53

Table 3.11: Dropout of Students by Field of Study in 2015

Field of Study Enrolment Completion Dropout Dropout

Rate

Wood Related 86 48 38 44.2

Leather and Footwear 34 20 14 41.2

Art Design and Media 59 41 18 30.5

Office Management 746 540 206 27.6

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning 399 294 105 26.3

Building and Construction 7088 5240 1848 26.1

Finance Banking and Management 1543 1162 381 24.7

Metal and Light Engineering 951 723 228 24.0

Gem and Jewellery 46 35 11 23.9

Languages 2157 1684 473 21.9


Telecommunication 1631 1329 302 18.5

Automobile Repair and Maintenance 1219 1030 189 15.5


Multimedia Technology 3365 2867 498 14.8

Agriculture Plantation and Livestock 354 321 33 9.3

Food Technology 70 67 3 4.3

Mechatronics Technology 95 94 1 1.1

Textile and Garments 21 21 0 0.0

Total 19864 15516 4348 21.9

Source (also for 12 & 13 below): MIS of the Department of Technical Education and Training

(Dropout Rate = (Dropout/Enrolment)*100). Both NVQ and Non NVQ courses are included

According to the table 3.11, the highest dropout rate of 44.2 percent was recorded in

wood relate field. There were no dropouts for courses in textile and garment field. Overall

dropout rate of DTET was 21.9 percent in 2015.

54

Table 3.12: Dropout of Students by Nature of the Course in 2015

Nature of the

Course Enrolment Completion Dropout

Dropout

Rate

Full Time 15219 12284 2935 19.3

Part Time 4645 3232 1413 30.4

Total 19864 15516 4348 21.9

Table 3.12 depicts the students‟ dropouts by nature of the course. It shows that students‟

dropout rate for part time courses (30.4 percent) was higher than that of full time courses (19.3

percent) in 2015.

Table 3.13: Dropouts of Students who followed NVQ Courses by Field of Study

Field of Study Enrolment Completion Dropout Dropout

Rate

Wood Related 86 48 38 44.2

Leather and Footwear 34 20 14 41.2

Art Design and Media 59 41 18 30.5

Office Management 746 540 206 27.6


Building and Construction 7088 5240 1848 26.1

Finance Banking and Management 1543 1162 381 24.7

Metal and Light Engineering 951 723 228 24.0



Telecommunication 1631 1329 302 18.5

Automobile Repair and Maintenance 1219 1030 189 15.5


Multimedia Technology 3365 2867 498 14.8


Food Technology 70 67 3 4.3

Mechatronics Technology 95 94 1 1.1

Total 17686 13811 3875 21.9

55

Table 3.13 shows the dropout of students who followed NVQ courses by field of studies

in 2015. Highest dropout rate (44.2 percent) was recorded for courses in wood related field while

the lowest dropout rate (1.1 percent) was recorded for courses in mechatronics technology in the

year 2015. However, special attention should be paid on fields with a dropout rate of more than

20 percent.

3.3.2 Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka (VTASL)

Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka, established under the Vocational Training Authority

Act No. 12 of 1995, is the premier institute which conducts vocational training programmes in

the government sector. Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka has been functioning for 19

years and has contributed extensively to the national economy by providing vocational training

to the youth throughout the island. It comprises of a network of 245 centres.

The course duration varies from 45 days to 2 years and courses are conducted in 18

fields. Nearly 30,000 youth are enrolled to follow these courses per annum.

The Vision of VTA is to be the most dynamic and innovative training provider in Sri

Lanka, catering to the global employment market. The mission is „to facilitate the fulfilment of

the global skilled employment demand by developing competencies in individuals through

modern methods and technologies in vocational training and education. We realize this mission

by setting the highest standards in our services and facilities and focusing on global

employability trends.‟

Functions of the VTA are

Organizing vocational training programmes, and providing vocational training and skills

for youth, also in collaboration with external institutes.

Conducting competency based final evaluations, and conducting testing & evaluations

and issuing reports as laid down by TVEC.

Conducting national trade tests and furnishing National Vocational Qualification

certificates. Issued by the TVEC

Conducting research and development programmes on vocational training.

Conducting Career Guidance Programmes and Counselling.

56

Providing further training, employment, and facilities to initiate self-employment for

youth who gained vocational training

Table 3.14: Recruitment and Completion of VTA (2010 - 2015)



2010 4,661 ,663 3,344 12,317 7,323 9,640

2011 8,532 0,719 29,251 5,873 ,925 4,798

2012 7,526 11,598 29,124 15,290 10,550 25,840

2013 7,078 11,419 28,497 14,469 10,114 4,583

2014 17,410 1,350 28,760 2,950 ,164 2,114

2015 7,563 11,182 28,745 14,470 9,671 4,141

Source (and for tables below): TVEC LMI Bulletin

As per above table and corresponding graph, total number of recruitment increased in

2011 as compared to the previous year. Then, it remained stable from 2012.

Table 3.15: Recruitments and Completions in Vocational Training Authority by Province

in 2015



Western 3910 2431 6341 3130 1934 5064

Southern 3575 2338 5913 2679 1942 4621

Eastern 2174 1273 3447 1821 1132 2953

Central 1544 882 2426 1313 746 2059

North Western 1309 931 2240 1177 839 2016

Northern 1140 1038 2178 1045 996 2041

Sabaragamua 1302 876 2178 1143 811 1954

Uva 1367 786 2153 1103 672 1775

North Central 1242 627 1869 1059 599 1658

Total 17563 11182 28745 14470 9671 24141

57

As shown in the above table, majority of recruitments were recorded from Western and Southern

provinces in the year 2015. In contrast, the lowest recruitment was recorded from the North

Central province.

Table 3.16: Training Performance of VTA by Field of Study in 2015





Personal and Community

Development 476 3255 3731 410 2903 3313




Automobile Repair and

Maintenance 2576 229 2805 2020 214 2234

Metal and Light Engineering 2486 32 2518 2122 23 2145


Hotel and Tourism 1306 86 1392 1189 76 1265

Wood Related 1186 81 1267 998 64 1062

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning 570 3 573 433 1 434

Food Technology 400 135 535 362 122 484

Printing and Packaging 116 80 196 94 69 163

Agriculture Plantation and

Livestock 167 26 193 112 25 137

Heavy Vehicle Operations 76 56 132 53 27 80




Languages 20 28 48 7 5 12

Marine and Nautical Science 32 0 32 24 0 24

58



Mechatronics Technology 10 0 10 6 0 6

Rubber and Plastic 6 0 6 6 0 6

Other 58 0 58 29 0 29

Total 17563 11182 28745 14470 9671 24141

As per table 3.16, the highest number of recruitment was recorded for Information

Communication and Multimedia Technology while the lowest number of recruitments was

recorded for Rubber and Plastic in 2015. Information Communication and Multimedia

Technology field was the most demanded field among females while the Electrical, Electronics

and Telecommunication field was the most demanded field among males in 2015.

Table 3.17: Top 10 Courses recording the highest Recruitment by Gender in VTA in 2015

No. Course Name No. Recruited

Male Female Total

1 National Certificate - ICT Level IV 1051 3144 4195

2 National Certificate – Electrician 2442 35 2477

3 National Certificate - Tailor (Ladies) 97 1740 1837

4 National Certificate – Beautician 98 1524 1622

5 National Certificate - Hair Stylist 153 1362 1515

6 National Certificate - Wood Craftsman

(Furniture) 1067 79 1146

7 National Certificate – Cook 967 55 1022

8

National Certificate - Computer Hardware

Technician NVQ IV with CISCO IT Essential/ A

Plus

729 150 879

9 National Certificate - Aluminium Fabricator 860 11 871

10 National Certificate – Welder 794 8 802

As per above table, the highest number of recruitments was recorded for National Certificate -

ICT Level IV course.

59

Table 3.18: Dropouts of Students by Field of Study in 2015

Field of Study Enrolment Completion Dropouts Dropout

Rate

Printing and Packaging 51 43 8 15.7

Wood Related 1,267 1,090 175 13.8

Metal and Light Engineering 1,236 1,075 149 12.1

Leather and Foot ware 89 80 9 10.1


Electrical and Electronic and

Telecommunication 3,306 2,889 315 9.5


Automobile Repair and Maintenance 2,744 2,252 233 8.5

Building and Construction 3,330 2,987 271 8.1

Textile and Garments 3,562 3,230 217 6.1

Hotel and Tourism 1,840 1,713 96 5.2


Multimedia Technology 7,006 6,208 304 4.3


Personal Community Development 3,397 3,215 88 2.6

Other 58 58 0 0.0

Languages 48 23 0 0.0

Art Design & Media (Visual &

Performing) 34 34 0 0.0

Rubber and Plastic 6 6 0 0.0

Total 28,745 25,589 1,934 6.7

As per the table 3.18, the higher dropout rates were recorded in Printing and Packaging,

Wood Related and Metal & Light Engineering sectors. The lower dropout rates were recorded in

Personal Community Development, Agriculture Plantation, Livestock, Information

Communication, and Multimedia Technology. In addition, zero dropout rates were recorded in

Languages, Art Design & Media (Visual & Performing), Rubber and Plastic and other sectors

60

3.3.3 National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority

(NAITA)

The National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) is a key institution in the

TVET sector of Sri Lanka operating under the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational

Training. NAITA was established in 1990 by restructuring the former National Apprenticeship

Board (NAB) which had been established in 1971 to conduct Enterprise Based Apprenticeship

Programmes. Before establishment of the Vocational Training Authority in 1995, during

evolutionary process, while having the main focus on Enterprise Based Apprenticeship, NAITA

had established a number of national, regional and rural training centres as well. Having the

experience of successful running of three national Institutes, more recently NAITA was entrusted

to establish one more National Institute at Killinochchi with the assistance of the German

Government. Nevertheless, under present context of having a number of different training

networks in the country, NAITA has been requested by the Minister to concentrate more on

Apprenticeship based training. While there are other institutes to work on centre based training,

the country has not done enough to encourage working while learning, and the Minister has

made it clear that NAITA must work more on this area.

It is also especially important that NAITA sets up a better system of ensuring that

products of other institutions receive On the Job training after their centre based courses. This

responsibility belongs to NAITA, but poor coordination has led to complaints that more attention

needs to be paid to this. NAITA is now trying to ensure that other training institutions participate

actively in the preparatory meetings it organizes in this regard, given the need to ensure that no

vocational training course is without a practical training component.

61

Table 3.19: Overall Performance in Major Categories of Training

Type of Training Enrolments Completion Dropouts

2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Industry based Apprenticeship 13,101 15,434 7,715 7,605 2,717 4,594

District Training Centres 6,521 5,554 5,340 5,365 1,037 673

National Institutes 1,821 1,890 1,545 1,353 231 188

On the job Training 3,600 10,040 2,726 4,106 41 251

In-plant training 6,421 8,274 6,924 5,625 0 0

Total 31,464 41,192 24,250 24,054 4,026 5,706

Table 3.19 shows the number of trainees in district training centres has decreased by 967. That

was an expected result as NAITA was discouraged to do centre based training. As a result of

increase in total enrolment, number in training at the end of the year shows an increased figure.

However, number of completion has not increased as completions are related to enrolments of

previous years. Drop out also shows a significant increase as new recruits have a higher

tendency to drop out.

62

Table 3.20: District wise Training Performance in 2015

District Recruitments Completion Dropouts Dropout

Rate

Batticaloa 1,038 575 38 3.7

Mannar 454 180 24 5.3

Polonnaruwa 668 453 41 6.1

Colombo 3,152 2,584 348 11.0

Mulathiv 208 76 24 11.5

Trincomalee 1,109 772 149 13.4

Jaffna 954 513 179 18.8

Mathara 1,291 704 285 22.1

Anuradhapura 607 398 134 22.1

Kilinochchi 572 299 131 22.9

Monaragala 392 318 92 23.5

NuwaraEliya 442 293 108 24.4

Puttalam 582 290 149 25.6

Vavuniya 481 333 127 26.4

Rathnapura 738 629 199 27.0

Kandy 778 550 219 28.1

Ampara 1,022 523 293 28.7

Kegalle 749 510 221 29.5

Galle 1,380 710 472 34.2

Gampaha 1,023 627 361 35.3

Mathale 461 269 165 35.8

Kurunegala 845 469 353 41.8

Kaluthara 890 428 407 45.7

Hambanthtota 796 453 385 48.4

Badulla 786 505 406 51.7

Total 21,418 13,461 5,310 24.8

63

Table 3.20 gives training performance of Enterprise Based Apprenticeship at district training

centres and On the Job Training handled by district offices. It shows that Batticaloa district

remains the geographical area where the lowest dropout rate was recorded for training in 2015.

In contrast, Badulla district remains the geographical area where the highest dropout rate was

recorded.

3.3.4 Ceylon-German Technical Training Institute (CGTTI)

The Ceylon – German Technical Training Institute (CGTTI) is the foremost institute in Sri

Lanka for the training of skilled technicians in the field of Automobile and allied trades. The

institute was originally established in 1959 at the premises of the central workshop of the Sri

Lanka Transport Board at Werahera. This was a result of an agreement entered into between the

government of the Federal Republic of Germany and Sri Lanka to supply training assistance in

the maintenance of the bus fleet, which belonged to the Ceylon Transport Board.

The Institute was shifted to Moratuwa in 1974 and re-named as the Ceylon-German

Technical Training Institute. It was originally set up and managed by a German Director and his

German staff until February 29, 1976 when its management was handed over to Sri Lanka, under

a Director /Principal and local Staff. The CGTTI was administered under the Sri Lanka

Transport Board until April 2004. Presently, CGTTI comes under the purview of the Ministry of

Skills Development & Vocational Training. The CGTI conducts full time and part time courses

related to the automobile industry, the full time courses are for school leavers and the part time

are mainly for those employed in industry to upgrade their skills.

The Vision of the CGTTI is to become the best Automotive Training Institute in South

Asia. The Mission is to “Systematically develop the technology related to Automotive and other

technical trades and to provide training to students to be appropriately equipped to perform at the

highest level of competence and thereby maintain high standards as the centre of excellence for

training in the automotive sector of Sri Lanka”.

Functions of the CGTTI include

To produce skilled persons required locally and internationally.

Conduct Full Time Training Courses in Automobile Mechanics and other allied Trades.

64

Conduct Part Time weekend and evening courses for school leavers and employed

persons to enhance their mechanical and technical knowledge.

Offer variety of customer oriented technical services, repairing of vehicles and technical

support for domestic home appliances and industrial sector.

The CGTI runs fulltime courses which includes long term courses extending up to four

years and a number of medium term and short term programmes. The programmes cover mainly

automobile related courses including electrical, mechanical, Diesel and Petrol, Motor body

repairs and painting.

A considerable number of part time courses are offered by the institute which also

includes automobile technology, electrical, Air conditioning and Refrigeration, draftsman etc.

These courses are aimed at working people to enhance their knowledge and also to give them

formal qualifications.

Table 3.21: Recruitment and Completion in CGTTI (2010 - 2015)



2010 338 6 344 274 7 281

2011 2,983 72 3,055 1,116 23 1,139

2012 3,443 3 3,446 1,873 9 1,882

2013 4,482 34 4,516 2,865 22 2,887

2014 3,940 3,940 2,186 2,186

2015 4,023 2 4,025 3,617 3,617

Source: TVEC LMI Bulletins

As per table 3.21, majority of recruitments were males while numbers increased

significantly from 2010 to 2013. However, they decreased in 2014 and then slightly increased in

2015.

65

Table 3.22: Training Performance of CGTTI by Field of Study in 2015




Maintenance 1847 1847 1983 1983


Telecommunication 242 242 231 231

Mechatronics Technology 216 216 203 203

Building and Construction 205 205 174 174


Conditioning 131 131 165 165

Metal and Light Engineering 118 118 189 189

Other 1264 2 1266 672 672

Total 4023 2 4025 3617 3617

Completion may include the intake of previous year.

As per above table, the highest number of recruitments was recorded for Automobile Repair and

Maintenance filed in 2015. All the recruitments were males except only two females of the total

recruitments.

3.3.5 Private Sector Performance

Table 3.23: Training Performance of TVEC Registered Private Sector Training

Institutions in 2015

Field of Study No. Recruited No. Completed




Medical and Health Science 3433 3294 6727 142 883 1025

Human Resource Management 1735 3625 5360 779 2568 3347

Personal and Community

Development 625 3599 4224 583 2387 2970

66

Field of Study No. Recruited No. Completed


Hotel and Tourism 1092 1835 2927 830 1557 2387

Finance Banking and Management 1637 1164 2801 706 331 1037




Maintenance 1183 4 1187 378 0 378

Heavy Vehicle Operations 1179 0 1179 1092 0 1092

Food Technology 574 395 969 438 372 810


Languages 464 390 854 280 275 555



Office Management 717 92 809 550 77 627

Trainer Training 290 206 496 201 141 342

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning 396 396 241 241


Aviation and Aeronautics 261 45 306 141 32 173

Metal and Light Engineering 269 269 127 127

Wood Related 151 151 87 87

Agriculture Plantation and

Livestock 41 80 121 38 73 111

Printing and Packaging 41 24 65 5 8 13

Marine and Nautical Science 37 5 42 27 3 30

Fisheries and Aquaculture 21 18 39 21 18 39


Other 5955 3163 9118 3311 1506 4817

Total 29764 26336 56100 15763 15138 30901

Source: TVEC LMI Bulletin

67

As per table 3.23, the highest number of recruitments was recorded for Information

Communication and Multimedia Technology field while the lowest number of recruitments was

recorded for Gem and Jewellery sector in 2015. Information Communication and Multimedia

Technology sector was the most demanded sector among both males and females in 2015.

TVET Contribution to the Agriculture Sector

According to the central bank report 2015, the number of employed persons in Sri Lanka has

increased by 1.5 per cent to 8.554 million in 2015 compared to 8.424 million during the previous

year. This increase was mainly observed in the Agriculture and Services sectors, supported by

the expansion of activities in these two sectors. Agriculture sector is different from industry &

service sectors, where higher percentages of own account workers and contributing family

workers can be observed, compared to other two sectors. Employment opportunities in the

Private sector, Employer and Self-employed categories increased whereas it declined in the

Public sector and Contributing Family Worker categories during 2015 compared to the previous

year. Increase in private sector employment was solely due to the increase in employment in

Agriculture related activities.

There were 31 training institutions which conducted 62 accredited courses with related to the

Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry sector as at 31st December 2015. In, Agriculture, Hunting and

Forestry field, 860 youth were recruited for Technical & Vocational Education and Training by

registered public sector training institutions in the year 2015.

68

Training Performance of TVEC Registered Public Sector Training Institutions in

Agriculture Plantation and Livestock Field by Province - 2015



Western 16 23 39 11 21 32

Central 97 44 141 67 40 107

Southern 123 3 126 76 0 76

Northern 46 9 55 39 0 39

Eastern 72 29 101 53 29 82

North Western 33 36 69 23 31 54

North Central 70 82 152 40 55 95

Uva 74 43 117 39 4 43

Sabaragamuwa 15 45 60 22 37 59

Total 546 314 860 370 217 587

While central province has highest number of output, north central has highest number of intake.

Northern and western provinces record lowest number of enrolment in to TVET programs.

Female participation in agriculture sector training is nil in Northern Province, which needs

immediate actions.

TVET Provisions for Vulnerable Groups Including Disable Youths

The following groups in Sri Lanka may be considered especially vulnerable or underprivileged

as per the National Strategy on TVET Provision For Vulnerable People in Sri Lanka (2010)

developed by TVEC and ILO.

1. Women, especially those heading households

2. People with Disabilities (Mental & Physical)

3. Disadvantaged youth (including school drop-out and former child labour)

4. Poor (including people in plantation areas, rural and urban poor)

5. Persons affected by conflict (including IDPs and ex-combatants)

69

6. Migrant Workers

Government policy for vulnerable or underprivileged groups is to bring them into mainstream

socio-economic development process. Access to TVET by above groups is low due to lack of

awareness, distance from training centres, lack of enrolment criteria, disability, poverty etc.

As strategies for policy implementation in TVET, following activities were proposed;

· Introduce training courses relevant to needs of each vulnerable group

· Introduce livelihood training programs and entrepreneurship training.

· Establish specialized training facility to relevant vulnerable groups, where necessary

· Establish support systems for vulnerable persons to continue TVET

· Recognize current skills through Recognition of Prior Learning

· Establish mechanisms for career guidance and counselling for vulnerable people

· Set admission criteria as appropriate.

In addition, Department of Social Services has maintained 8 vocational training centers at

Seeduwa, Amunukumbura, Ragama, Madampe, Ketawala, Wattegama, Vibhavi and

Thelambuyaya. Disabled young children of age 16-35 were admitted to these training centers to

follow TVET courses for a one year duration and given all facilities free of charge including

meals, health facilities, accommodation and daily allowance. Once completed, they were given

with guidance and tool sets for self-employment.

70

3.4 Summary

The three highest demanded jobs in formal advertisements were Sales Executive, Marketing

Officer and Call Centre Executive. The top three in informal advertisements were House Maid,

Mason, and Cook. (LMI Bulletin, December 2015). In 2015 the highest no. of student

completion in DTET was in Building and Construction, ICT and Languages; in VTA; ICT,

Personal and Community Development and Textile & Garment in private sector; ICT, Medical

and Health Science, HRM (table 3.8, 3.16, 3.22). The training providers in public and private

sector should consider about the market demand occupations and especially provide short

courses when planning courses every year. It is very important to cooperate with other training

institutions in same area to rationalize the courses.

71

Chapter 4

Foreign Employment

4.1 Introduction

Foreign Employment is one of the leading income generating sources of Sri Lanka. The annual

GDP contribution from foreign employment is around 9% of the country total. Sri Lanka Bureau

of foreign employment (SLBFE) is the regulatory body for foreign employment. Foreign

employment has also been important in terms of skills transfer, investment etc.). SLBFE

undertakes the responsibility of migrant workers‟ protection, welfare, job security etc. and also

runs training institutions to provide training for housemaids to obtain qualifications. More

recently SLBFE has been working together with TVEC to provide training in soft skills too,

since this will support to overcome problems arising during employment.

It was difficult to trace the annual potential for foreign employment so this assessment

will look at the number of departures in previous years to understand the pattern of migration for

employment.

72

4.2 Departures for Foreign Employment

Figure 4.1: Trends in Departures for Foreign Employment

2015201320112009200720052003200119991997

320000

300000

280000

260000

240000

220000

200000

180000

160000

140000

Year

No

of

De

pa

rtu

res

No of Departures

263563

293381302261

Yt = 143920 + 7540.02*t

161911

Source (and for tables and charts below): Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

As shown in the above figure, the increasing trend of departures for foreign employment has

continued during the period from 1997 to 2014. However, it declined significantly in 2015. The

decline could be partly attributable to the slowdown of economic activities in the Middle East

and also to the restraints on the departures of female workers from Sri Lanka for low-skilled

employment categories.

73

Figure 4.2: Departures for Foreign Employment by Gender

Source: Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

Figure 4.2 clearly depicts that the female departures for foreign employment have gradually

declined from 2012 while male departures have increased notably until 2014. Several policy

decisions taken by the SLBFE during the latter half of the year 2013 have caused the decline of

female migration. Increasing the minimum age limit of women migrating for domestic work,

upgrading the training given to female domestic workers to the level 3 National Vocational

Qualification (NVQ) and making this qualification compulsory for women migrating to Saudi

Arabia for domestic work, and introducing the mandatory requirement for potential women

migrant workers to submit a family background report etc. are among the most influential policy

decisions.

74

Table 4.1: Departures for Foreign Employment by Gender in 2015

Country Male Female Total

Saudi Arabia 44518 30392 74910

Qatar 60481 4630 65111

U A E 28886 14715 43601

Kuwait 14291 24160 38451

Oman 3257 3820 7077

South Korea 6889 74 6963

Maldives 4543 263 4806

Jordan 1613 3192 4805

Bahrain 1799 1920 3719

Malaysia 2333 910 3243

Lebanon 432 2166 2598

Israel 463 1523 1986

Cyprus 223 1325 1548

Singapore 691 768 1459

Others 2211 819 3030

Total 172630 90677 263307

Table 4.1 shows the destination of departures for foreign employment by country in 2015. The

highest number of departures for foreign employment was recorded for Saudi Arabia (26.6%)

and many of the migrants left for housemaid level jobs. The second highest number of foreign

jobs were found in Qatar and most of them were for skilled workers. Middle East remains the

major region of destination of Sri Lankan migrant employees while the Saudi Arabia, Qatar,

United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are the major receiving countries. In 2015, about 80 percent of

the total migrant employees were recruited for those Middle Eastern countries.

75

Figure 4.3: Top Five Recruiting Countries for Foreign Employment - 2015

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

Saudi Arabia Qatar U A E Kuwait Oman

Male

Female

As per above table and graph, 66 percent of the total departures for foreign employment

were males and most of them left for Qatar in 2015. Most of the females have gone to Saudi

Arabia.

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Figure 4.4: Trends in Departure for Foreign Employment by Manpower Levels

In terms of departures for foreign employment by manpower level, Professionals, Skilled

and Semi-skilled categories have shown significant increase, while all other categories have

shown decline in 2015 compared to the previous year. The skilled labour category contributed to

31 percent of total departures, which is an encouraging development in the drive to enhance the

migrant employment profile of the country. Around 57 percent of total departures comprised

Unskilled and Housemaid job categories. Around 2 percent of departures were under the

Professional category.

77

Table 4.2: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Craft & Related worker Jobs

Figure 4.5: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Craft & Related Worker Jobs

As per above table and corresponding graph, the highest departures for foreign

employment in the Craft & Related workers category was recorded for Electrician-General in

2015. It increased by 40 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year.

Job Category Year

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Welder- General 2421 1618 1074 1,048 881 1,104

Mason – General 3450 2165 1457 1,548 1,730 2,228

Carpenter- General 3739 2586 2007 2202 2326 2834

Fitter- Plumber/Pipe 2111 1441 531 373 330 408

Electrician- General 3333 2738 1891 2,178 2,267 3,166

78

Table 4.3: Foreign Employment Placements for selected service and shop workers

Job Category Year

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Cook – General 2690 2587 2362 2,306 2,186 2,327

Waiter –

General 2474 2659 2165 2,082 2,437 2,815

Room Boy

/Maid 314 219 245 174 248 312

Stewards 690 561 540 680 650 812

Housemaid 112361 106878 118485 96,124 88,628 73,278

Figure 4.6: Foreign Employment Placements for selected service workers & shop &

Market workers Jobs

The highest number of departures for foreign employment was recorded for housemaid

jobs over the years. However, it has considerably decreased in 2015 compared to the previous

79

year. Notable decreases were observed in departures of housemaids to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan due to the policy decisions.

Table 4.4: Foreign Employment Placements for Selected Plant & Machine Operators &

Assemblers

Job

Category

Year

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Driver-

Light

Vehicle

9,910 7,186 8,133 6,636 7,393 7,933

Driver-

Heavy

Vehicle

8543 3711 1637 2,054 2,055 2,695

Driver-

Truck 406 366 680 489 721 762

Machine-

Operator 6,344 5,515 5,104 6,221 6,179 4,981

Figure 4.7: Foreign Employment Placements Departures for selected Plant & Machine

Operators & Assemblers

80

Source: Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

As shown in the above table and corresponding graph, the highest number of

departures for foreign employment in the Planed & Machine Operators & Assemblers was

recorded for Driver- Heavy Vehicles in 2015.

Figure 4.8: Departures for Foreign Employment to Saudi Arabia by Gender

The above graph depicts departures for foreign employment to the destination of

Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2015 by gender. From 2010 to 2013, majority of departures for Saudi

81

Arabia were females. However, it was reversed with male dominance in departures for foreign

employment after 2013. The same is the case with regard to the other countries examined below.

Figure 4.9: Departures for Foreign Employment to Kuwait, Oman and Dubai by Gender

Figure 4.10: Departures for Foreign Employment to Lebanon and Jordan by Gender

82

4.3 Summary

There are no proper sources to identify foreign employment demand by country or by

occupation. SLBFE publishes the departure for foreign employment (table 4.1-4.4, figure 4.1-

4.7). It is very important to obtain the foreign employment demand to plan TVET programmes at

the beginning of the year. It is necessary to develop a mechanism to obtain the demand through

embassy/high commissions of each country or/and the Foreign Ministry to plan the relevant

training programmes. The training providers can publish their courses including the average

remunerations for related jobs. It will create a massive demand for TVET programs.

However, some planning can be done on the basis of the above statistics, notably that

better training for construction workers will provide more opportunities for that element in Sri

Lanka now suffering from unemployment and also disinclination to work. In this regard, recent

ILO reports indicate a few measures that can be taken swiftly to increase the appeal of Sri

Lankan workers. TVEC is working on these measures but requires more commitment from

training agencies, and more administrators who understand current needs and that innovations

are urgently required. In particular, the failure of DTET and VTA, despite instructions from the

Minister, to increase staff who can inculcate English and Soft Skills is worrying, and suggests

the need for stronger leadership in those institutions.

83

Chapter 5

Current Developments as to

Industry Involvement

and

Enhancing Career Skills

5.1 Industry Sector Skills Councils

5.1.1. Background

Many developed countries in the world have considered the industry sector as the steering wheel

of the vocational education and training system. There are formally established Industry Skills

Sector Councils (ISSC) representing the industry sectors for this purpose. There may be many

industry sector councils for different industry sectors and sometimes one industry sector council

may look after a few related sectors or subsectors as to comply with country‟s economic policy

and government priorities. These councils decide the training areas, content and depth as per the

specific human resource requirements of the country.

In Sri Lanka, the reforms in TVET sector started with the President‟s Executive order in

1998, which was based on Presidential Task Force Report for reforms in TVET in 1997 and

many reforms have been introduced to the TVET system gradually. One major milestone in this

84

endeavour was establishing National Vocational Qualification(NVQ) in year 2004, which

brought different existing qualifications into one unified system with developing of new training

packages to implement competency Based Training (CBT) in Sri Lanka for the first time. The

establishment of Sector Skills Councils is the latest development, initiated in year 2015 under the

TVET sector reforms programme.

Government of Sri Lanka is in the process of reforming its skills sector based on a

comprehensive Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector Development

Program (TVET- SDP) started in 2014. The main objectives of the TVET-SDP are to improve

governance and management of the training sector, improve the quality and relevance of training

programs, and expand access to quality skills development programs. It stresses the importance

of engaging employers to play an active role in managing the sector, of levelling the playing

field between the private and public sector in training provision, of enhancing the productivity of

informal workers, and of making a wider use of monitoring and evaluation to improve the quality

and efficacy of training programs. Sector skills councils is one strategic intervention of the

industry to steer the TVET sector to match the industry required skills in to the vocational

education and training system.

5.1.2 What are Industry Sector Skills Councils?

Industry Sector Skills Councils are independent, strategic industry-wide organizations. They

have the responsibility for skills and workforce development of all those employed in their

sectors - from professional staff to craftsmen, women, administrative staff, and support staff and

other ancillary workers. They also cover all sizes of employer - from large firms to micro-

businesses and the self-employed persons. Each ISSC is an employer-led organization that

actively involves other key stakeholders. Currently the Tertiary and Vocational Education

Commission (TVEC) is responsible for supporting and monitoring the network of Industry

Sector Skills Councils.

85

5.1.3 What is their Role?

Industry Sector Skills Councils have been established to influence how training is delivered in

the country. Each ISSC is responsible for dealing with the skills needs within their sector

country-wide. The key goals are:

• Reduce skills gaps and shortages through identifying and introducing new training

packages

• Enhance on the job training and widen opportunities irrespective of geographical

boundaries, gender, income, language, private/public/NGO training center and other

differences

• Improve productivity through skills development

• Increase opportunities for all individuals in the workforce

• Improve TVET supply through providing directives to enhance relevance and quality

• Build the image of the TVET sector

• Provide consultancy and advisory services related to technology adoption, competence

development, service sector productivity improvements etc.

For the first time, ISSCs enable employers to have direct influence on training policy and

packages, unlike the former system of development of training within the TVET sector. Sector

Skills Councils are intended to support and advice on education and training at all levels in the

country.

To realize the above broad goals, following specific activities are assigned to the ISSCs.

1. Participate in the establishment of National Competency Standards and the development of

Curricula to ensure acquisition in trainees of the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes required by

employers, and support their regular updating in accordance with the skills requirements of

changing technology and employment requirements

2. Support training providers to consistently interpret and deliver the requirements of the

Curricula.

3. Enhance the quality of TVET by providing industry and other employment placements for

trainers attached, and partner TVET Institutes in ensuring delivery of new knowledge and

requirements to trainees.

86

4. Contribute to the overall effectiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training

programmes by supporting the apprenticeship training programs and training site staff to

monitor and supervise On the Job training.

5. Facilitate the training of NVQ Assessors and the conduct of NVQ assessments to maintain

uniformity and consistency.

6. Improve the image of the occupations in their sectors so as to attract youth for training and

employment while also educating employers on the value of employing skilled workers, and

in particular those with nationally recognized qualifications.

7. Improve competitiveness of the Industry by enhancing capacity and competencies of existing

craftsmen through skills upgrading and further training programmes and NVQ certification

through the Recognition of Prior Learning scheme for career advancement.

8. Facilitate equity of access for TVET and employment for females, vulnerable groups and the

differently abled

9. Develop occupational map and skills catalogue for the industry sector

10. Prepare „Sector Skills Plans‟ identifying industry skill needs for future developments, nd

provide strategic advice on training and skills development.

11. Support the development and implementation of continuous capacity building programs for

Trainers and Assessors.

12. Initiate Agreements, Memorandum of Understanding and contracts with TVEC, NAITA and

other organizations for provision of services related to skills training and development

As identified by much local research, on the job training in industry sector has been

identified as a major challenge towards the skill development of the youth in the country. The

long-term training could not be afforded to both government and the trainees due to various

restrictive factors. Therefore, it was encouraged to implement short term training for selected

areas in service sector and entry level occupations in all possible areas. These trainees are to be

placed at mandatory on the job training in the industry and competencies are to be assessed at

end of the on the job training. This will enhance the skill turnover and save idling times of

young labour market entrants. Training centers are benefited by understanding the industry

required human resources in shorter time and developing continuous linkages with the industry

through industry placements of trainees throughout the year. This is an easy entry in to TVET

system thus reducing informal job market, which is harmful to the country‟s development. Skills

87

Sector councils are given the task of proposing reforms in skills development to achieve short,

medium and long term objectives of the government‟s development plans by steering the skills

of the labour force.

The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) has embarked on various

activities to implement the new reforms with the support of ISSCs for ultimate benefits to the

youths of the country. Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes are of high priority to implement

the improved courses and assessor training to improve the quality of assessments. New and

improved courses are being introduced to training organizations through workshops and forums

of Registered Training Organizations (RTO) s. The information related to new developments in

the skills sector and training documentations are published in TVEC web site www.tvec.gov.lk

and social media.

5.1.4 Implementation Progress and Activities

Four industry sector councils are formed and function with the support and guidance of the

Industry Liaisons Division of the TVEC. Those are;

• Construction Sector

• ICT Sector

• Manufacturing Sector

• Tourism Sector

The TVEC works with industry driven committees in other sectors, e.g.

• Automobile and repairs sector

• Care, Counselling, Health and Education sector

• Finance and Business Management sector

Currently, Skills Sector Councils are actively involved in the following activities on assignment

basis.

• Reviewing the existing competency standards related to each sector.

• Developing resources for career path planning and mapping in each sector.

• Identifying and developing some introductory courses at NVQ level 3 and other levels

educating on these new courses.

• Social Marketing activities to build the image of the TVET sector.

http://www.tvec.gov.lk/

88

5.1.5 Summary

Sector Skills Councils, which were established as the latest initiative in the TVET sector, intend

to support industry and service sectors in skills development. SSCs need to be responsive to the

skills requirements of industry and employers, which will eventually maximize the potential for

individuals to access full, freely chosen and productive employment to fulfil their social and

economic goals. The unseen potential of these councils needs to be tapped in realizing the

expectations of quality and relevance in the TVET system in the country. Industry based research

by TVET in terms of finding solutions to emerging issues in the industry would be an example of

industrial linkage in TVET system. In time to come, the leadership of the industry should steer

TVET sector through their own initiatives and resources. This will establish their ownership and

responsibility of ISSCs for the betterment of TVET, industry and eventually sustainable

development in the country.

5.2 Skills Gap and Soft Skills

The latest study on skills mismatches in Sri Lanka done by the International Labour Organization

has concentrated on skills demand by employers and has suggested to adopt a conceptual

framework that rests on the three pillars of cognitive, technical and soft skills, and to reorient

training provision, both in general and technical education. Significant gaps in technical skills

such as proficiency in English language and computer are highlighted, along with

conceptualizing ability.

The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) has also identified the

importance of this requirement and introduced compulsory soft skills modules for all courses

including English language communication skills. In addition to that foundation courses were

introduced to offer NVQ levels for English language and other soft skills qualification. To

facilitate the training institutes for delivering soft skills, TVEC has developed training materials

in collaboration with expert consultants. Compulsory text books at three levels encourage self-

study, while mandatory projects develop working capacity.

89

5.3 Social Marketing and Career Guidance

It is vital to establish better career guidance systems and make information readily available to

students. In order to maximize opportunities, there is need of liaison with prospective regional

employers as well as regional offices concerned with rural development.

The Ministry has been advised to develop in each District Secretariat a proactive TVE

Advisory Committee. It has to be chaired by the District Secretary and day to day responsibility

has to be given to the District Skills Development Officer and the Director of the District Career

Guidance Centre. District Career Guidance sectors need to be the responsibility of the three

major service delivery institutions, with each taking responsibility for setting up a centre at a

teaching centre in the District. Services have also be delivered at Divisional Secretariat Level,

with monitoring through Divisional Skills Development Officers and others concerned with

economic activity requirements, with plans being presented as to satisfying needs. This does not

do away with the requirement for Career Guidance Officers in all Training Centers, in addition to

individuals responsible for academic affairs and for administration (though in small centers all

these can be the responsibility of the head of the institution). All Centre Career Guidance officers

should collaborate in the dissemination of information and the organization of regular job fairs

and school visits. These committees should report regularly to the parent institutes and to the

TVEC, to fulfill its responsibilities with regard to planning (Tertiary and Vocational Education

Policy, 2016).

In addition, TVEC has been working with ILO and the Ministry of Home Affairs to

establish in each division a coordinating mechanism to make sure that all officers of all

ministries concerned with employment work together to promote training and provide career

guidance.

5.4 Introducing Short Courses

On the industry requirement, TVEC has introduced three months short courses for several

occupations in selected industry sectors. An additional three months on-the-job training is

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required to complete these courses. The course duration will help to reduce student dropout rates.

It will be expected to provide early employability in line with industry needs, given that many

courses are now longer than required for current employment requirements.

5.5 Revising TVET Policies and the NVQ Operational Manual

The TVET policies and the NVQ operational manual have been revised to streamline the TVET

courses and enhance the quality of training delivery.

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Chapter 6

Recommendations

and

Constraints

6.1 Recommendations

1. The Skills Gap report by International Labour Organization revealed that skills demand of

proficiency in English language by employers mismatches with the training supply. This

mismatch is highlighted in reports on foreign employment, which also stress the need for

more on-the-job training. Since a large percentage of trainees expect to engage in jobs in

foreign countries, English language skills will help them to find jobs abroad. Based on

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reconstruction of the courses, TVEC radically changed the delivery of soft skills which are

now compulsory together with English for all TVET courses. But agencies have been slow to

hire staff and there is need to expedite revising Schemes of Recruitment. Also there is need

of developing internal monitoring systems in addition to the formal monitoring by the TVEC

through the Registration and Accreditation process and the establishment of Quality

Management Systems.

2. TVEC, as advised by Sector Councils, has introduced three months short courses for several

occupations in selected industry sectors. An additional three months on-the-job training is

required to complete these courses. They have proved popular, including to introduce

students to the sector in the period after their GCE O/L Exam, but they need to be expanded

including in other industry sectors.

3. There is growing demand for skilled and semi-skilled persons in health care. Prospective

trainees must be given suitable training and obtain NVQ certificates for the persons to be

able to find jobs in health care centres locally as well as in the foreign countries. There is

need of more courses and also encouragement of training, including in government suppliers

not used to such innovations.

4. There is a gap between delivery of current training and modern technologies. The trainers

should get their skills upgraded while having better understanding of the new technologies

used in the related industry. For training delivery, it is required to adapt to the nature and

quality of the skills required by the industry. Therefore, it is necessary to reform the teacher

training programmes for skill upgrading and updating the knowledge in new technologies.

5. It is recommended to introduce ICT components to all training courses as there is need of

ICT to manage new technologies, as indicated in the ILO Skills Gap report too.

6. It is recommended to amend the TVE Act to include new policies for better coordination

with donor agencies through the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training.

7. This study has revealed that around 87 percent of the females in 25-34 age group are inactive

due to engagement in housework. Therefore, in order to bring females into the labour force,

the country needs flexible working arrangements.

8. In Sri Lanka though the overall unemployment rate is lower (less than 5%) the youth (age 15-

24) unemployment is high (20.8%). Therefore, the country needs effective policies to

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overcome the situation with effective and efficient utilization of those young individuals to

increase productivity and sustain long term economic growth.

9. It was revealed that a majority of unemployed who wish to start self-employment expected a

loan facility for their basic needs. Therefore, it is recommended to provide necessary loan

facility for encouraging them and promoting self-employment to reduce the problem of

unemployment.

10. Considering training performance of DTET in 2015, more than 40 percent of students‟

dropout rates were recorded for Wood Related sector and Leather and Footwear sector in

2015. This, taken together with the relatively low numbers for all construction related

courses at the levels at which employment is readily available, suggests a need for better

social marketing, while also tailoring courses to need rather than continuing with the long

courses which do not attract nor hold sufficient students.

11. All institutes should study recruitment and dropout figures and take steps to increase the

former and reduce the latter. The failure to look clearly at statistics but instead make

grandiose claims for existing courses is symptomatic of a government system that is resistant

to change because there are no penalties for doing badly, no incentives for doing well.

Institutional culture needs to change, with more emphasis on quality and responsiveness to

the needs of students.

12. There is a huge demand for Sri Lankan human resources abroad. During the year 2015,

workers‟ remittances accounted for a sum of Rs. 948,957 million and it was around 9% of the

GDP of the country. Therefore, it is recommended to enhance professional education and

vocational training courses aligning with foreign requirements including language skills and

on the job training in a more effective manner.

6.2 Constraints

1. The training providers do not like to change their traditional training courses and methods

of training. Therefore, is it difficult to introduce new courses with revised curricular and

course durations. It is also necessary to ensure that they pay more attention to quality

development.

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2. The Department of Technical Education and Training (DTET) is the pioneer public sector

training provider in the country. It has 36 Technical Colleges including 9 College of

Technology. However, DTET could not expand training courses in popular industry

sectors i.e. Hotel and Tourism.

3. Unavailability of career guidance and counseling programmes for covering the TVET

potential group all over the country.

4. The available sources are few for industry demand information.

5. The supply driven approach gives less support to development but involving Sector

Councils has run into problems because of bureaucratic constraints.

6. Lack of coordination by government continues a serious problem, and all stakeholders

are urged to encourage better coordination and ensure continuity of purpose and practice

when personnel change.

National Skills Development Report 2015 · 2017. 9. 21. · National Skills Development Report 2015...

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