Cabinet approves Skills Development Decade

• President declares 2021-2030 as period for reducing unskilled labour to 10% of workforce 
• Aims to transform SL into centre for HR development in Asia 

Cabinet yesterday gave approval for the next ten years to be declared the “Skills Development Decade”, following a directive from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

The aim of the program is to reduce unskilled labour in Sri Lanka to 10% of the working population, and enable Sri Lanka to become more productive and competitive.

 “It is essential to obtain the participation of youth as active pioneers in the endeavour towards sustainable development for creating a peaceful and just society and enhance their skills, talents and capabilities for this purpose,” a statement released by the Government Information Department said. 

It went onto say that prominent attention has been paid to developing youth skills even by the national development agenda, ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour,’ which is also the President’s election manifesto.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers expressed their consent for the proposal submitted by President Rajapaksa for declaring the period from 2021 to 2030 as the “Skills Development Decade” of Sri Lanka, with the objective of making differences in the fields of general and higher education, and vocational and skills training, to mould a citizen suitable for the future, with the intention of decreasing the untrained labour of the workforce, and transforming Sri Lanka into the centre for human resource development within Asia.