Shift to skilled worker:

Foreign remittance to top $ 20 bn

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Plans are under way to increase Sri Lanka's foreign remittance to reach a staggering US$. 20 billion in a few years. Foreign remittance which is Sri Lanka's number one foreign exchange earner was at US $ 3.5 billion last year.

The new Chairman, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency, Asanga Abeyagoonasekara, told Sunday Observer that a shift from unskilled to skilled labour would be the key to achieve this target.

He said that over 85 percent of the current foreign remittance comes from the Middle East through unskilled labour mainly from housemaids. Remittance from Korea is also in the rise.

Philippines was also in a similar situation in 2003 netting in US $ 7 billion foreign remittance and there again bulk of it came from unskilled labour.

"However Philippine was quick enough to move with the times shifting their focus from feeding the Middle East to the European countries. Also they introduced skilled labour such as nursing, baby sitting, tourism and other similar areas."

The first plus point Sri Lanka would receive would be the increase in foreign remittance and a skilled labourer would receive over five times the salary of a housemaid. The Chairman said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was former Minister of Labour took several meaningful steps to tap the European market and focus on skill labour. "I am continuing the good work," he said.

The reputation of the country, the lifestyle of foreign employees and their families would see a dramatic change when they shift from unskilled to skilled as the revenue would increase and the family would be elevated to a middle income family due to high earnings. If a housemaid was to spend four years to make a prosperous living, a skilled worker could achieve that target sooner.

Abeyagoonasekara, said that though Sri Lanka enjoys 92 percent literacy rate one of the main drawbacks to achieve this shift is training and English.

"Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency, together with Tharunyata Hetak has now embarked on this project. "This linkage would go a long way to achieve this target," he said.

Sayurin Etharata a new organisation will be launched focusing on building a consortium of training institutes, positioning Sri Lanka in the international market, safety, security and transparency.

He also said that security and safety of Sri Lankan expatriates too would be one of the top priorities in their agenda. "The usual practice is that when an employee goes overseas his or her file is closed and we are planning to keep this file very much open," he said.

The decision by the government to have foreign employment under the Foreign Ministry will help the foreign employees in a great way. "When a Sri Lankan employee faces problems overseas several line ministries have to attend to the issues which drags on. However now, Sri Lankan embassies could act more swiftly as we can provide the necessary information quickly," he said.

He said a 24-hour help line would be set up while the existing insurance scheme would be modified to suit the current demands.

A new website would also be launched end of this month where the employee and the employer could meet each other. "Youth could also download application form and email to us which will help us to set up an employee bank.

This will help identify suitable candidates for jobs while providing an opportunity for those who qualified to find employment abroad," he said. The Chairman said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris has also instructed Sri Lankan missions overseas to find employment opportunities in their countries.

He said that under a five-year plan Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency would be converted into a dedicated, transparent and reliable institution. "We are also hoping to move in to a more spacious venue from the World Trade Centre to serve the public better," he said.