Enhancing skills in Sri Lanka for inclusion, recovery, and resilience

International development in practice

Format:

Corporate Author:

World Bank

Author:

Shobhana Sosale

Publisher:

World Bank

Sri Lanka has confronted and is grappling with a number of exogenous shocks, including the devastating 2004 tsunami; the 2008 global recession; the COVID-19 global pandemic; and, more recently, the ongoing 'triple crisis' (fuel, food, fiscal). The country is now at a crossroads. An ongoing process of strengthening skills and improving education will be crucial to Sri Lanka's economic recovery. Sri Lanka is transitioning from a rural-based to a modern, urbanised economy, and better jobs are being created, especially in services. To remain globally competitive, the Sri Lankan workforce must gain the technical competencies and higher-order cognitive skills that meet the needs of local and foreign labor markets. As a result, Sri Lanka will need to transform its current skills development system and processes to align them to emerging jobs; improve their market relevance; and develop an effective, inclusive, and accessible education and training system for skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling the stock and flow of the workforce. 'Enhancing Skills in Sri Lanka for Inclusion, Recovery, and Resilience' addresses these urgent issues and provides recommendations for educators and policy makers