Sri Lanka needs more and better jobs: World Bank
View(s):Better jobs, more women in jobs and creating new jobs was all the talk at the World Bank Development Report Update released on Thursday at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo where policymakers and economists highlighted the need for reforms for Sri Lanka to reach an upper middle income country status.
“Sri Lanka’s march towards upper middle income status and more and better jobs hinges on the economy’s competitiveness and its ability to pursue a private investment-tradable sector-led growth model,” World Bank’s Senior Economist for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Ralph Van Doorn said.
Highlighting the challenges posed by domestic political considerations and institutional constraints on implementing policies, he said “A strong political will and support of the bureaucracy could help advance the reform agenda.”
In this respect, it was pointed out that the government had already pursued these objectives through the implementation of reforms outlined in the Vision 2025 like phasing out para-tariffs, simplifying and speeding up procedures for investment, trade and setting up a business.
Sri Lanka’s recent natural disasters had cost the nation an economic growth slow-down that was at a 16-year low in 2017 and eventually contributed to a growth decelerating to 3.3 per cent.
On the contrary official reserves have hit a record high in April 2018 due to capital inflows; as a result growth is expected to rebound this year from a low base and continue to be at around 4.2 per cent.
Moreover, the country is faced with the task of overcoming the problem of rising unemployment as most youth are without work and low female labour participation.
Across the board, it is believed that reforms could grow the Sri Lankan workforce as the country aims to create one million new jobs through a knowledge-based, highly competitive, social market economy focused on inclusion.
Issues pertaining to regional disparities in unemployment, low female participation in the workforce, and concerns of finding workers with the required skills to take on the jobs of the future.
During the panel discussion of the report, Institute of Policy Studies Research Director Dr. Nisha Arunatilake said that if Sri Lanka is to create innovation we need to look at increasing those job categories for professionals and semi-professionals.
With a large segment of tertiary education not found in science and technology there is a problem in that these tertiary level students cannot find jobs to suit their education.
Employers’ Federation of Ceylon Industrial Relations Advisor/Training Coordinator Ayomi Fernando said that reforms to labour law are essential and that Sri Lanka deals with labour laws that are “colonial and adversarial.”
In Sri Lanka most females await jobs in the public sector and “if they don’t get it they stay at home,” she said.
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute Global Economy Programme Chair Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja spoke of the shocking situation in the workplace regarding the level of harassment of women adding that this was mostly prevalent outside of Colombo than within.
Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission Chairman Designate Prof. Dayantha Wijesekera noted that there was a skills mismatch in training and development and that youth were misguided that when you get a degree you can get a job.
He pointed out that there were a number of opportunities at mid level and even at international agencies. The difficulty is to attract youth to these kinds of studies (vocational and technical), he said adding that today most seek public sector jobs while at the Moratuwa University most graduates want a placement in the private sector.
“We have to attract the youth through innovative methods,” he explained.
During the discussion the issues of pensions and stability in retirement was found to be the key concern in respect of those seeking public sector jobs and it was noted that private sector workers were unable to save for their old-age.
In addition it was noted that the government needed to change the systems of the state universities that churn out graduates unable to work in future settings as the quality of tertiary education was not innovative enough in comparison to their counterparts.
(SD)