Private sector not pushy enough in education needs

Sri Lanka’s private sector must share the blame for not putting pressure on the authorities for a demand-driven education system in the country instead of one that doesn’t match market needs, a top administrator said.

Gotabaya Dassanayake, Director General of the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) told the monthly meeting of The Sunday Times Business Club that to create an employable workforce a rationalization of the secondary, tertiary educational and vocational training policies is required.

“Just as much as we blame the government and the educational authorities for supply driven education in this country, there is very little the private sector has done to encourage the authorities to have a demand driven educational system in the country, other than speaking at forums,” he said, speaking on labour market issues and labour reforms.

Dassanayake, associated with labour issues and developments in Sri Lanka since 1978 and with the EFC for the past 27 years, said that when they have been invited to sit on boards and committees, their contribution has been minimal.

“The consensus has always been not to worry about reforming the educational policies of the government, as long as the private sector is able to find people for their enterprises. It is time that the private sector focuses seriously on the educational policies of the government, as when we talk about an employable workforce, we need to focus on marketable skills. Although Sri Lanka proudly boasts of a 90% literacy rate, it means very little from the point of “marketable employment skills,” he said.

He said special focus on foreign employment opportunities also needs to be looked at, for example sending health care workers for which there is a demand rather than sending housemaids. “We have hitherto failed to develop our nursing sector which is so much in demand in the developed world. Countries such as Philippines and India have continued to make use of such opportunities where as Sri Lanka has continued to focus on housemaids,” he added.

Dassanayake, who retires from the EFC this month, said Sri Lanka has experienced many intensive labour issues with strikes occurring day after day, trade unions complaining, etc, which has a huge impact on the economy and the investment climate.

He said most talk about the Far East, Singapore, and Asia in referring to labour standards but fail to look at the environment in which those countries have made such changes. Over the last 25 years with the rapid development of ASEAN countries, western countries are demanding than never before for an even-playing field in labour standards.

Asian countries are required to observe International Labour standards which the western countries do, for it has been indicated by them that if “we don’t observe labour standards, they would not trade with us,” he said.

Dassanayake said some key features of importance for a labour market to be efficient include an employable workforce, job placement services, streamlined terms and conditions of employment, streamline termination procedures, unemployment protection, flexibility, etc.

He said the government needs to focus on the development of entrepreneurial skills for self employment in terms of a marketable workforce and this cannot be done with the current educational system from Grade 1 to the Advanced Level.

Our youth are groping in the dark,” he said, citing the lack of a job placement programme providing accurate collection and dissemination of labour market information as some of the reasons. Many rural youth do not have information that their urban counterparts have with regard to job placement information. “Today rural youth go through the 13 years of education and subsequently move onto the so called ‘computer classes’, said Dassanayake.

“There has been no review of our labour law and legal framework despite all the changes that have happened in the past 28 years,” he said, while stressing the vital need to focus on reciprocal obligations between employers and trade unions.

“It is said that Sri Lanka has a highly protected labour force or in other words an exclusive or privileged lot has been created. These are the people who have obtained jobs and are in employment. We need to focus on a framework that will protect jobs in general as against protecting individuals in such jobs,” Dassanayake said indicating a much needed shift in thinking with regard to labor relations.
On unemployment protection, he said there needs to be a balance between flexibility and termination laws. While many call for flexibility in termination laws, they often lose sight of the fact that Sri Lanka does not have adequate social protection measures in place. The EFC has made note of this and has invited the trade unions to work together in achieving this, he said. A national unemployment insurance scheme is vital in instances where an enterprise needs to be restructured. “Generally the entire burden of the restructuring programme in terms of paying off redundant workers, etc… falls on the enterprise. In most developed countries national unemployment insurance schemes have been implemented which comes to the assistance of enterprises.”

“We should not be fighting with our trade unions, instead we should be talking with our unions telling them that these are issues that we as an enterprise is willing to discuss and implement, and these are the issues that you as trade unions need to consider” he said.

The meeting was hosted by the Trans Asia Hotel and co-sponsored by Lion Brewery Ltd.