{"id":156589,"date":"2026-06-05T15:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=156589"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:37:43","slug":"are-we-exporting-our-human-capital-instead-of-developing-our-industries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/06\/05\/are-we-exporting-our-human-capital-instead-of-developing-our-industries\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Exporting Our Human Capital Instead of Developing Our Industries?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/breaking-news\/Japan-opens-employment-pathways-for-Sri-Lankan-fisheries-graduates\/108-341892<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan opens employment pathways for Sri Lankan fisheries graduates <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka is organising a Half-Day Workshop on Construction Sector Human Capital Recovery,”<\/strong> which will be held on 4th June 2026 at the Albatross Hall, Water\u2019s edge <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent news reports reveal a troubling contradiction in Sri Lanka’s economic policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One report highlights discussions between Sri Lanka and Japan to create employment opportunities in Japan for Sri Lankan fisheries graduates. Another announces a workshop on “Construction Sector Human Capital Recovery” to address the severe shortage of skilled workers in Sri Lanka’s construction industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two developments expose a fundamental weakness in our national development strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, Sri Lanka has invested heavily in education and vocational training using public funds generated through taxation. Universities, technical colleges, vocational training centres, and apprenticeship programs have produced engineers, technicians, welders, electricians, machinists, fisheries experts, and other skilled professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, instead of utilizing this valuable human capital to build local industries, successive governments have viewed overseas employment as a solution to economic difficulties. As a result, thousands of skilled workers leave the country every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequence is visible everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The construction industry complains about the shortage of skilled workers. Manufacturing industries struggle to recruit technicians. Shipyards and engineering workshops find it increasingly difficult to hire welders, fabricators, and marine engineers. The healthcare sector loses nurses and medical professionals. Agricultural and fisheries sectors lose trained personnel who could contribute to increasing productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having exported much of our skilled workforce, we now discuss importing workers from other South Asian countries to fill the resulting gaps. Reports indicate that more than 15,000 foreign workers may be needed in certain sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This raises a simple question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should Sri Lanka spend public money training skilled workers only to export them and then spend additional resources importing replacement labour?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue is not migration itself. Citizens should have the freedom to seek employment abroad. Overseas employment generates valuable foreign exchange and provides opportunities for individuals and families.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, national policy should focus on creating attractive opportunities within Sri Lanka so that migration becomes a choice rather than an economic necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countries such as Singapore, South Korea, China, and more recently Vietnam transformed their economies not by exporting their educated youth but by creating industries that absorbed their skills. They invested in manufacturing, shipbuilding, electronics, steel production, logistics, marine services, and advanced construction technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka possesses similar potential.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our strategic location in the Indian Ocean, our ports, our maritime heritage, and our educated workforce provide a strong foundation for industrial development. The country can expand shipbuilding and ship repair, marine engineering, steel fabrication, prefabricated building systems, fisheries processing, renewable energy equipment manufacturing, and export-oriented industrial parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of merely exporting fisheries graduates, we should modernize the fisheries sector, develop deep-sea fishing capabilities, establish seafood processing industries, and create value-added export products. The goal should be to export high-value products rather than human capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in construction, the focus should not be limited to replacing lost workers. The industry should transition towards industrialized construction methods, steel-based structures, modular building systems, precast technologies, and advanced manufacturing. Such transformation would create higher-paying jobs capable of retaining skilled workers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A practical national strategy could include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Tax incentives for industries that create high-skilled employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Public-private partnerships to establish advanced vocational training centres linked directly to industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Long-term industrial development zones focused on manufacturing and marine industries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Wage support and productivity incentives for strategic sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Encouraging Sri Lankan professionals abroad to return through investment and knowledge-transfer programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Linking government-funded education and vocational training with national industrial priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real wealth of a nation is not found beneath the ground but within the skills and knowledge of its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka must move beyond being a supplier of labour to the world. We must become a nation that transforms knowledge into products, technology, services, and industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge before policymakers is therefore clear: should we continue exporting our trained people and importing labour, or should we create an economy capable of retaining talent and generating prosperity at home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer will determine Sri Lanka’s economic future for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a urgent need to formulate a Blue Economy Strategy <\/strong>in Sri Lanka to develop a long term plan to retain our people in the in the country <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera\u00a0 https:\/\/www.dailymirror.lk\/breaking-news\/Japan-opens-employment-pathways-for-Sri-Lankan-fisheries-graduates\/108-341892 Japan opens employment pathways for Sri Lankan fisheries graduates  The National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka is organising a Half-Day Workshop on Construction Sector Human Capital Recovery,” which will be held on 4th June 2026 at the Albatross Hall, Water\u2019s edge  Recent news reports reveal a troubling contradiction in Sri Lanka’s economic policy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156590,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156589\/revisions\/156590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}