Labour shortage compels Sri Lankan firms to recruit foreign workers - Minister

• Labour shortage has severely affected several key industries, including construction, tiles and accessories, footwear, leather products and the automobile sector   
• Says over 400,000 private sector job vacancies
• Lack of an adequate local workforce has forced many industrialists to seek workers from overseas to sustain their operations  

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama   

Sri Lanka’s private sector currently has more than 400,000 job vacancies, compelling local industries to recruit foreign workers from countries such as India and China due to a shortage of both skilled and unskilled labour, Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti said.   

Addressing a discussion held at the Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry yesterday (30), the Minister said that labour shortages have severely affected several key industries, including construction, tiles and accessories, footwear, leather products and the automobile sector.   

He said that the lack of an adequate local workforce has forced many industrialists to seek workers from overseas to sustain their operations.   

To address the shortage, Minister Handunnetti instructed officials to implement a systematic training and employment programme under the direct supervision of the Ministry to integrate rehabilitated youth into the industrial workforce.   

The Minister made these remarks during a discussion on a joint programme launched by the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, the Bureau of Rehabilitation and the Vocational Training Authority to provide permanent employment opportunities for rehabilitated youth in the private sector.