Labour shortage looms over Sri Lanka’s “Magic Moment”
View(s):By Sunimalee Dias
Though Sri Lanka is now in its “magic moment” in terms of economic development however, the country’s looming threat of labour shortage has become a compelling issue for local industries, the newly elected National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) President Sunil G. Wijesinha said.
Speaking at the chamber AGM last week, he noted that Sri Lanka must not fall into the middle income trap like its neighbour Malaysia did.
On the other hand, he pointed out that the looming threat of a labour shortage was something the industries must address themselves not which the government could help out.
In this respect, the industries needed to upgrade themselves to attract more skilled workers with better pay and improved work environments, as was demanded by the local job market.
“Today it is almost impossible to find new recruits because they want to work in air-conditioned environments mainly in shops and supermarkets even for a lower pay,” he said.
This would ensure the country would be able to build up on a productive and competitive workforce, he explained, for which the government could assist with providing a skilled workforce in the future.
Mr Wijesinha also wanted the government’s efforts to be more focussed on SME development which is vital for a booming economy.
In terms of quality, productivity and innovation, he explained “Sri Lanka is a transition economy” as a result of which the country needs to compete on factors other than price.
He called on for a statutory body to be in charge of productivity and in this respect an institutional framework and a national plan of action.
Mr. Wijesinha asked the government to engage more with the chamber as the think tank to obtain required advice and for necessary policy formation and not just prior to a budget.
Guest of Honour Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal in his speech observed the growing challenges the economy would face after reaching the US$4000 per capita income bracket that would then give rise to a sudden boom as was evident in many other countries that crossed this milestone.
This would mark the “magic moment” of the country as he noted that countries record high growth after achieving this mark.
Mr. Cabraal said the government was keen to move up in the ‘Doing Business in Sri Lanka’ index to reach the 30th slot within the next 3-5 years. Today Sri Lanka is at the 81st position.
In terms of the country’s image, he noted today people talked about Sri Lanka in a different perspective as a place to travel to, to do business with and as a country that keeps in line with international programmes in terms of monetary development.
Chief Guest MP and International Monetary Co-operation Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama pointed out the need for increased integration of the economy and the macro fundamentals in addition to investments on infrastructure development.
He noted that the country should move to an age of doing “new things” with improved innovation and making achievements at a much higher level.
Postgraduate Institute of Management Director Prof. Uditha Liyanage delivering the keynote speech talked about branding Sri Lanka as a country or a sector.
He noted that this was relevant in today’s context as the country need to re-position itself on the global platform. Sri Lanka currently holds the 16th position among the top Asia-Pacific brands, he said.
As a Third World nation the country needs to develop its own brands to become popular globally and in this respect tea was a good option. However, it was queried whether the branding should be for Sri Lanka or Ceylon as tea in the country was marketed as the world renowned Ceylon Tea.He noted that with the “Land Like No Other” tagline the country was not able to position itself but they were capable of working on the diversity, authenticity and compactness of the island to market it internationally.
Outgoing President Asoka Hettigoda outlined the achievements made in the past two years during his tenure at the helm.
He had organised for the first time two key missions to Vietnam and Myanmar and that they were looking at establishing trade councils with Myanmar and Laos in the future but were currently working with Vietnam and Bangladesh.
| Sri Lanka to re-brand from housemaids to professionals
International Monetary Co-operation Senior Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said the government needs to concentrate more on obtaining remittances from professionals than from housemaids. |
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus