Financial Times

Improving the image of builders
Awards for Sri Lanka’s best mason, carpenter
The Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI) the apex body in the construction industry (CCI) representing engineers, architects, constructors and contractors, alarmed over the dearth of skilled workers for the construction industry has come up with a novel idea to boost the image of the profession – selecting the country’s best mason and carpenter.
The demand for such skilled workers has enormously increased since the tsunami disaster with contractors unable to find workers as jobs in this sector are not attractive, status-wise.

To overcome this problem and to make such jobs more attractive, CCI in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), City and Guilds London Sri Lanka Branch and Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) has begin several innovative programmes with one being a country-wide competition to select the best mason and the best carpenter in the country. The competition would also be open for other trades in the construction industry.

The main purpose of all these exercises is to focus at image building and to give pride of place for these essential occupations. Youth would be extensively trained, their competence would be tested and certificates of competence would be awarded in a bid to ensure occupational dignity and integrity and increase the number of these skilled workers.

The awards scheme would recognize the Best Small and Medium Scale Construction Contractors, the Best Team Leader/Labour Contractors, The Best Mason, the Best Carpenter and also a scheme to recognize construction companies discharging their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The formulation of these schemes has been the results of the direct involvement of the ILO and the award scheme is designed to achieve the objectives of enhancing the image of construction industry/craftsmen; project a positive outlook to attract new entrants/school leavers; facilitate skills development and technical upgrading of the existing workforce; motivate construction workers to obtain accreditation/certification; enhance capacity building and competitiveness of the SME sector in the construction industry and recognize construction contracting entities excelling in the discharge of their CSR.

Surath Wickramasinghe, President CCI explaining to the media the importance of these schemes, last week said that the domestic construction industry would be providing employment for more than 700,000. CCI is now involved in a survey to assess the construction craftsmen at village level to establish the actual numbers and identifying them by name, address, present occupation and earning levels. He said the tsunami has created a wide gap between the supply and demand in the construction skills market.

Ms Tine Staermose, ILO Country Director in Sri Lanka said that the skilled labour for the construction industry is far less than what is required and the requirement would be around 30,000 workers. The inability to attract people to these jobs has greatly hindered the construction industry. She emphasized that to attract more and more people, image building is very important. Construction workers are normally portrayed as poorly dressed and low class citizens and this should have to be changed. The image of these workers has to be uplifted and it would be a long process. The image building should start from the school itself.

Dr T.V. Piyasiri, Director General, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission said there are about 50,000 trained in various trades annually, but the numbers trained on construction skills are very low, less than five percent. He also said that a lesser number is trained in these trades, as people cannot be attracted for such trade training.

He said that a five month training programme has now been formulated and these students are now paid an allowance of Rs 300 per day during the training.

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