30 November 2022 01:26 pm
The brain drain has increased decisively due to the current economic crisis in the country, and at least 10,000 of the cream of ICT engineers have migrated since the crisis started, Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) President Damith Hettihewa said.
He told the Daily Mirror that due to emigration, the country would lose the cream of ICT talents, which can help grow the economy.
“The majority of migrations occurred as a result of the high demand for IT engineers worldwide as a result of the fourth industrial revolution, the digital revolution, which was followed by rapid post-colonial migration in all countries,” he said.
“The IT sector in the country is a powerful solution for the current economic situation in the country, and the brain drain has affected it mainly,” Hettihewa said.
"It is estimated that between 20% and 25% of IT-related personnel left our companies to work for other companies that met their economic needs," he said.
"Even before the COVID pandemic, our industry required 20,000 fresh IT professionals per year. However, only 9,000 people joined us in holding hands. About 1000 persons came from Government institutions, and the remaining persons came from private universities. "There was a 50 per cent loss in supplying IT-related personnel to the industry," he said.
"The CSSL set an export target of USD 3 billion by 2024. We could reach $1 billion in 2021. Migration and a lack of IT professionals have affected our target," Hettihewa said. (Chaturnaga Pradeep Samarawickrama)