Today Sri Lanka manufacturing industry is facing a huge issue of finding well fit employees to its contemporary requirements. With the globalisation, industry is facing for the threat of survival and all the manufacturing sectors are adopting to Industrial revolution 4.0 demands.
Is Sri Lankan Education Ready to Supply the demand?
Even though the literacy rate of Sri Lanka has been reported as 92.49 % in 2022 according to the World Bank collection of development indicators,knowledge towards science and computer literacy is not in a satisfactory level. Majority of secondary education schools in rural areas do not have qualified teachers and other facilities or they have only the non technical courses. This has resulted in exclusion of most rural children from access to science education, which is perceived to be an effective avenue to upward socio economic mobility(Jayaweera & Gunawardhana, 2007).
The need to modernize Sri Lanka higher education by bench-marking the performance of university and its academic outcomes is increasingly under debate. A prominent educational level may help employability and lead to a raise in the employment rate which in turn helps to reduce poverty in the country (Rajmohan1 , Nalin 2016). The unemployment rate of graduates is being a major threat to the economic growth of Sri Lanka during the past decade. The reason for this unemployment was evident as the mismatch between the labour market expectation and skills acquired by the graduates. During past years due to the establishment of private universities a huge competition is being observed among public and private university graduates to secure their places in the labour market (Rajmohan1 , Nalin 2016).
Sri Lanka has successfully provided basic education to almost all children; however, the quality and relevance of the education system must be improved to equip workers with the evolving skills demanded in a more globalized world. There are substantial mismatches between the demand for and supply of workers, especially between higher education and high-skilled workers (Dundar et al. 2014). Further more the poor funding and low enrolment rates in tertiary education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) have resulted in youth unemployment and mismatches with the skills demanded by the business sector.
Conclusion:
According to the industrial skill labour shortage and the increasing unemployment rate, it is obvious that there is a considerable gap between industrial requirement as well as the education system. This is badly impacting for the Sri Lankan economy as well as the society and in this case there is a big roll to play fro HR professionals to develop Industry-academia collaboration handing with the education policy makers to fill the identified gaps and make a ‘Ready to Work’ skilful work force in the country.
2. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, Rajmohan1 , Nalin 2016. https://www.ijbmi.org/papers/Vol(5)9/J05907176.pdf
3. Jayaweera C & Gunawardhana S (2007) Social Inclusions: Gender and equality in education SWAps in South Asia.
4. Dundar, H., B. Millot, Y. Savchenko, H. Aturupane, and T. Piyasiri. 2014. Building the Skills for Economic Growth and Competitiveness in Sri Lanka. Washington, DC: World Bank
5. Ama H. Vanniarachchy, August 26, 2023: The Significance of a Job-Oriented Education System in Sri Lanka, Cyelon Today.
🙌 Insightful information on how Sri Lankan labor shortage and skill requirements and the need for development in education areas to shift the current gaps in the industry
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DeleteGood post! The mismatch between education in Sri Lanka and the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is hardly an overstatement HR People have a great responsibility of covering this gap through working with the educational institutions to ensure that curricula being taught in the schools meet the market demands.
ReplyDeletepresenting the ideas with remarkable clarity and practicality. The content provided are
ReplyDeleteeasy to understand, making the content highly engaging and informative. It's evident that a lot of thought and effort has been put into crafting this post. I genuinely look forward to reading more insightful content from you in the future!"
Unemployment after the graduation is really problem to a country. That can occur due to graduates are not suitable for current job demand. Then education system should be changed.
ReplyDeleteVery important issue in Sri Lanka’s education system, especially the gap between what the industry needs and what schools are teaching. From my experience in the banking sector, I've seen how this mismatch affects hiring, especially when looking for tech-savvy candidates. It’s crucial that education and industry come together to better prepare students for the real-world demands. Great insights on the need for an updated education system
ReplyDeleteExcellent post discussing the inseparability of certain elements in Human Resource Management.
ReplyDeleteHighlighting the factors such as education/ gaining qualifications over the perceived role and requirement of making a skillful workforce is mainly discussed. The gaining of knowledge is huge through the article.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post on the alignment of Sri Lankan education with the demands of the manufacturing industry is both timely and insightful. You effectively highlight the challenges faced by the sector, particularly the skills gap exacerbated by rural educational disparities. The discussion on Industry 4.0 technologies adds depth, illustrating the urgent need for modernization in education to meet evolving industrial requirements.
ReplyDeleteYour references to key statistics and studies lend credibility to your argument, emphasizing the mismatch between graduate skills and labor market expectations. Additionally, the focus on improving the quality and relevance of education, especially in STEM fields, is crucial for addressing youth unemployment and fostering economic growth.
Overall, this post provides a compelling analysis of the current state of education in Sri Lanka and its implications for the future workforce. Great job raising awareness about these important issues!
This article brings out a very significant issue related to the system of education in Sri Lanka focusing on the mismatch between learning outcomes and requirements of the labor market in the background of Industry 4.0. In this view harmonization by HR professionals and policymakers becomes vital for enhancing vocational training and thereby skill building in a manner that responds precisely to the market requirements.
ReplyDeleteAs this article describes, there is a gap between Sri Lanka's education system and the skills required for modern industries, especially the demands of Industry 4.0. Collaboration between industry and education system is essential and HR professionals and policy makers must work together to create a skilled workforce.
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