Tourism industry requires 130, 000 newly trained personnel by 2020: study

Sri Lanka’s tourism industry will need around 130, 000 newly trained personnel by 2020 to serve the targeted 4 million tourists, a study has revealed. According to a study conducted by the National Human Resources Development Council (NHRDC) of Sri Lanka, the tourism industry, based on arrival forecasts, will add around 350,000 direct and indirect new jobs by 2020.

The study said though there were 141 tourism hospitality sector related programmes offered island wide with 98 registered programmes, with only 23 programmes having quality certifications. Many Sri Lankan hotel groups also conduct their in-house training using internally developed programmes, many are of high quality. The study said the industry would be better served if these courses were also registered and certified to allow accreditation.

According to NHRDC Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody, around 197 new hotels with approximately11700 new rooms, catering to all levels, will start their operations by 2018. “This will immediately require newly trained personnel putting enormous pressure on the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector,” Weerakkody said. The study said the requirement of trained employees in the up-coming new hotels should be met by the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) launching improved curriculum and