ICTISC unveils ICT skills roadmap for Sri Lanka

The development and attraction of high-level ICT skills is crucial to the growth of Sri Lanka’s economy. Following Sri Lanka’s vision to position itself as the knowledge hub of Asia through a number of targeted measures, ICT Industry Skills Council (ICTISC) has defined the ICT Skills Development Vision 2025 and Roadmap to boost both the numbers of high-level ICT graduates from tertiary and vocational education sector, and to help meet the increase in demand for high-level ICT skills in future. 

ICTISC, as the apex ICT industry organization in Sri Lanka, now seeks to build a 350,000-strong skilled ICT workforce by 2025. The ICT Skills Roadmap was presented at the ICT fraternity at the ICTISC Annual General Meeting held on 27 September at Hilton Colombo Residence. The impact of emerging technologies on all sectors of the economy and the spread of digitalization have been taken in to consideration in building Sri Lanka’s ICT Skills roadmap 2025. Keeping in line with the changing industry landscape, the ICTISC’s strategy will be on driving attention towards embracing new and emerging technologies, the skilling and reskilling of talent as an imperative for the industry and keeping pace with global digital transformation. 

“We have been extremely privileged to have had this experience of linking the tertiary and vocational education sector with the ICT industry of Sri Lanka and contributing towards aligning the TVET sector focus with the dynamic global developments. It was a great opportunity for me to help curate the future course of our industry. The supply of high-level ICT skills is no longer just a sectorial issue, but a national economic priority. In developing this new roadmap, ICTISC has worked extensively with industry and the education and training sector in devising measures that can boost supply to meet the ambitious level of demand forecast for the coming years,” said ICTA Consultant and ICTISC Board Director Indika de Zoysa. 

The ICT Skills Development Vision 2025 will be reached through a series of impactful measures within the tertiary and vocational education system, including an expansion of provision in higher education, Improving the quality of NVQ curriculum and teaching methods, the continued expansion and development of Soft Skills, growth in the number and intake of ICT apprenticeships, and the introduction of a new Pathways to ICT programs such as ‘Future Career Bridge’ program. Its success will ensure that Sri Lanka’s ICT sector and, increasingly, other sectors of the economy, continue to thrive to the benefit of it’s competitiveness, economic prosperity and sustainable growth. 

Consisting of Industry leaders and stakeholders, ICTISC is ICT Industry driven organization supported by the government of Sri Lanka. ICTISC aims to prepare Sri Lankan workforce for Digital Sri Lanka and make Sri Lanka an ICT skill hub for the global ICT industry. ICTISC is aligned with the ICT Industry vision of creating 200,000 skilled workforce, enabling the industry to reach $ 5 billion exports revenue by 2022. Further, ICTISC functions as the platform between the IT Industry and the Vocational Education Sector of the country.