GENEVA, 15 May – The Hon. Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister for Science and Technology, who also holds the portfolio of Minister for Vocational Training, met with representatives of the Skills and Employability Branch to discuss the growing phenomenon of skills mismatch in Sri Lanka. “We would like to explore together what structural changes are needed to address this problem as the number of cohorts are growing”, said Minister Amunugama at the beginning of the meeting. “Putting our heads together, we can explore what is needed as well as what is required over the next decades, and how we can use the resources of the UN system in this field. This would be helpful”. Highlighting the number of tools and studies on the topic of skills needs anticipation was Srinivas B. Reddy, Chief of the Branch, who said, “The ILO offers a number of tools, in particular, in forecasting the long-term skills needs in the different sectors of the economy. They have been used in several sectors, including in manufacturing, hospitality, construction and the garment sectors.”
The Minister also pointed to the shortage of nurses in the country, highlighting it as among those occupations on which to focus attention. He further expressed an interest in seeking assistance on how to involve private sector participation in skills development.
