National Human Resources and Employment policy in the offing

by Ananda Agalakada

Any student who hopes to fulfil his or her aspirations should follow a study course - either the Advanced Level or Ordinary Level qualification and Tertiary education is their only anchor.

The target audience for Vocational Education and Training (VET) consists of school leavers who terminate academic pursuits at any stage beyond the mandatory school attendance grade.

Those willing to join VET programs must be identified through a mutually accepted methodology. This could be done through co-ordinate work of the Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) concerned, he said.

Planning, Research and Development Director of the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka (VTA), K.J. Koralage said that youth with these challenges have to find suitable remedies.

It is important to take into consideration their abilities and categorise them accordingly. They are the future generation.

There are five million youth who are 26 percent of the population in the country. About 150,000 students leave school after sitting the GCE (O/L) and GCE (A/L) examinations each year. Hence 92 percent seek alternative avenues for productive employment.

The prime responsibility of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development (MYASD) such as the Vocational Training Authority, National Apprentice and Industrial Authority, Department of Technical Education and Training should cater to this to help them to increase their vocational and technical skills.

Sri Lankans must be skilled to be competitive and human resources Development should be a part of the National Development Plan. Under the 'Mahinda Chinthana', the Development Framework of MYASD and the National Human Resource and Employment Policy (NHREP) should be aligned to achieve success, he said.

To realise such development initiatives, the workforce must have the skill that meets the changing needs of the industry, thus it should be nurtured with the right skills, quality and mindset.

Now Sri Lanka requires a new configuration of skills, abilities and competencies to transform the country's skills to support development aspirations. In this context the formulation of a National Human Resources and Employment policy and a strategy and action plan to implement the policy is imperative.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs could be co-ordinated in the work plan, he said. Director K.J. Koralage said, that the valuable contribution of the private sector is important to improve the country's human resource development. The private sector would be encouraged to align with the country's development plans.

Various changes are being implemented in the Ministries of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, Education Foreign Employment Promotion and Labour.

Thus, the NHREP would ensure coherence among the Ministries and provide an umbrella framework policy.

According to the NHREP publication that the success story of the Chinese development efforts was primary due to the education reforms undertaken by them. Sri Lanka too needs to make necessary changes in education, higher education and the vocational training system should be geared to meet the human resources demand in the country. The Government has taken steps to develop the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy to achieve objectives according to the NHREP.

* Promote the attainment of decent productive and freely chosen employment for men and women in Sri Lanka.

* Promote productivity of the labour force to improve competitiveness and enhance employability.

* Provide opportunity for each work to qualify for and use his/her skilled and endowments in a job for which he/she is well suited, without discrimination, and thereby achieve the Government's policy framework for development, 'Mahinda Chinthana Vision for the Future'.

* Safeguard the basic rights and interests of workers in line with international labour standard and national labour laws.