Sri Lanka aims to fill IT workforce gap by equipping high school graduates

• Annually, there are 20,000 IT job openings, with Sri Lankan universities producing only 10,000 IT graduates

Sri Lanka plans to provide essential IT skills to high school graduates in an effort to bridge the workforce gap in the IT sector, given that the country currently produces only half of the required workforce annually.

Each year, there are around 20,000 job opportunities within the IT sector, while Sri Lanka’s public and private universities together produce approximately 10,000 IT graduates annually. As a result, State Minister for Technology, Kanaka Herath highlighted young individuals who have completed their A-Levels with the skills necessary to meet the remaining labour force requirement.

Herath made these remarks during a press conference held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) yesterday on the subject of the ‘International Education Forum - 2023,’ organised by the Education Division of the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS).   This forum is scheduled to take place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on November 3, in conjunction with the ‘INFOTEL ICT’ exhibition.

“Annually, the IT industry generates approximately 20,000 job opportunities, while only 10,000 IT professionals are available. This glaring gap in the information technology sector in our nation must be addressed by utilising high school graduates. 

Our government is committed to this endeavour,” Herath stressed.

“To this end, we have launched the ‘DIGIECON 2030’ programne, with the primary aim of formulating a national digital economy policy by the year 2030. The International Education Forum forms part of the broader strategy to realise the government’s objectives.

Empowering the education sector in our country is integral to advancing the national digital economy agenda. We extend an open invitation to all students and youth to actively participate in this initiative,” he added.