SLBFE, VTA sign MoU for providing vocational training aimed at foreign jobs

The Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) and the Vocational Training Authority today (April 18) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide vocational training aimed at foreign employment.

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara, who was present at the event signing of the MoU, said Sri Lanka needs to more skilled workers to meet the demand for employment opportunities in countries like Japan, Europe, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

The Ministry of Labour & Foreign Employment has managed to secure a number of lucrative job opportunities for Sri Lankans in caregiving, hospitality and construction fields in the aforementioned countries and regions, the lawmaker said, adding that there is, however, a lack of skilled workers in the country to meet this demand.

Taking this into account, the Foreign Employment Bureau and the Vocational Training Authority entered into an MoU to produce more skilled workers with the aim of securing these job opportunities.

Pursuant to this MoU, the Vocational Training Authority will train professionals with necessary skills for foreign employment, provide them with the national vocational qualifications and provide other professional certificates according to the guidelines provided by the Foreign Employment Bureau. 

When providing foreign employment opportunities in the future, Nanayakkara said the priority would be given to workers who have received training from the Vocational Training Authority.

Registration of students, the standard of training, and regulation and certification process will be subject to guidelines of the Foreign Employment Bureau.

Speaking further, Nanayakkara said, “Under the SLBFE Act, which functions under the Ministry of Labour & Foreign Employment, there is an opportunity to train workers aimed at foreign jobs. But training is not our main task. The main task of this institution is to regulate the field of foreign employment.”

Further, the welfare of expatriate workers and their family members becomes a major responsibility of this institution, he added.

“The primary responsibility for training workers for employment is assigned to the Ministry of Education and to the Ministry of Vocational Training. So we took a decision to leave such matters in the hands of the vocational training institutes in the public sector and the private vocational training institutes recognized by the government. It will be implemented as a policy decision. We are paying more attention to the welfare and protection of expatriate workers and their families.”

From here on, the Foreign Employment Bureau will deal with the welfare and safety of the expatriate worker and also intervene in streamlining remittances sent by the expatriate worker in the correct way through legally accredited channels, Nanayakkara said further.