Sri Lankans lack confidence in speaking English despite advanced technology
A majority of Sri Lankans who have chosen ICT as their future career have ended up in failure for the simple reason that they have (English) language constraints. Speaking proper English has become the problem when one looks at the students who pass out from national and private universities in the country.
There is vast knowledge, mind-blowing innovations and brilliant presentation skills, but all that comes to zero when communicating in English.
On Tuesday the British Council together with SLASSCOM, the industry body for the BPM, KPO and IT sector in Sri Lanka, hosted an event titled ‘Communication Skills for the Future’ at the Hilton Residencies in Colombo.
The purpose of the event was to create awareness amongst member companies on the communication skill requirement for the industry and the approach needed to meet and maintain those standards.
On the sidelines of the event, British Council Deputy Country Director David Maynard told the Business Times that one cannot compare Sri Lanka with any other country that is ahead in technology and innovation. The country is at a very low level no matter how much innovation has taken place as English speaking skills provides the key to an advanced nation. He said, “Sri Lankans need to get rid of the mindset of learning only the national language Sinhala or Tamil. When dealing with any foreign country especially in the IT/BPM industry, proper English has to be spoken and it is a MUST.”
SLASSCOM Executive Director Dharshan Cooray, speaking at the event said, “We see exponential growth in the IT/BPM industry in terms of workforce, revenue and new ventures starting. A lot of changes are happening in the global market with increased consumerisation of IT and growth in SME activity.”
During a panel discussion held at the event, it was mentioned that family background is a main issue in speaking English. Since most of the tools used in the IT/BPM sector are in English and the market is filled with English speaking territories, it is a must to learn to speak the language first and communication skills secondly. In schools English is considered as a subject and not a language to deal with stakeholders.
SLASSCOM acts as a catalyst of growth of the Sri Lankan IT/BPM industry by facilitating trade and business, propagation of education and employment, encouragement of research and innovation and by supporting the creation of a progressive national policy framework. Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM industry has set its vision to achieve US$ 5 billion in exports by 2022 while generating 200,000 jobs and facilitating 1000 startups in the country.
The event focused on the presentation of the findings of the benchmarking and needs analysis exercise of the industry in Sri Lanka. It also outlined the approach to improvement of English and communication in the IT/BPM industry.
Speaking at the event, SLASSCOM Chairman Jayantha De Silva said, “We believe that this exercise has been of great value to the industry. Over 108 unique job roles have been benchmarked for the industry, building a foundation to set standards that can help in attracting clients as well as in recruitment and development of its human capital in communication skills in English which is a critical factor in better service standards overall.”