Employability for armed forces through Education and Employment Act
While the government is in the planning stage to present an Education and Employment Act that’ll focus on developing human resources, it is aiming to arm the armed forces’ employability. Inaugurating the first ever Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit at the Taj Samudra Hotel on Thursday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said a new Education and Employment Act to improve the standard of living and quality of life of all Sri Lankans is being drawn up. This aims to promote a highly developed, skilled and globally competitive workforce, he said. He added that there are some 60 per cent of students who leave before they reach O/Ls. “We want to make 13 years of education compulsory and we’re trying to introduce an upper secondary qualification,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said adding that he’s now discussing with the German officials to bring in the dual vocational training system that Germany has.
Turning to the Germans
He further said that Germany is one of the European countries in which learning on the job is a traditional component of the education system where all vocational training is aimed at imparting comprehensive professional competence in the occupation. Vocational training in Germany is guided not only by the requirements of the labour market, but also by the need for individuals to acquire skills, knowledge and competences that enable them successfully to prove themselves on the labour market, he said.
The proposed law aims to address the structural failures of job supply, education, training and employment by balancing the education and labour market policies, he said, adding that it would facilitate more females in the jobs and also shatter the glass ceiling. Secondly he said this Act will aid armed forces who need employability. “We need to empower the armed forces that need jobs.” He pointed out that Sri Lanka while being ranked as a middle income country has a low wage mentality.
He called on the businesses not to bank on protectionism to reap profit. “We are keen to develop a highly competitive social market economy with an open economic and business model attracting foreign direct investments.” He called on the private sector to partner in this and not to insist on protectionist policies in order to generate profits. Mr. Wickremesinghe said that Britain’s exit from the EU has prompted the government to negotiate separate a trade agreement with Britain.