World Bank, ILO and ADB experts to share insights at SL Human Capital Summit

Over 300 policy makers, CEOs, top public officials representing the Sri Lankan corporate and public sector are expected to participate in the Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2016. The two day event to be held on 11 and 12 August is a Public-Private Partnership between the National Human Resource Development Council of Sri Lanka (NHRDC) and the Association of HR Practitioners (AHRP) in collaboration with the Employers Federation of Ceylon, ILO, ADB and the World Bank. 

The event will feature over 40 resource persons, both foreign and local and they will speak across the six sessions of the summit, with a special address by HR Guru Professor Dave Ulrich Via a video link. The summit is set to be conducted under the theme – ‘Towards a future ready workforce’. 

Dr. Amit Dar

Dr. Amit Dar Director, Strategy and Operations and Acting Director of Education Global Practice of the World Bank will speak on the conference theme ‘Towards a future ready workforce’. Dr. Dar has a Ph.D and Master of Arts in Economics from the prestigious Browns University, USA, and a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science in Economics from Birla Institute of Science and Technology, India. He joined the World Bank in 1992.  

Dr. Dar has held many senior management positions in the World a Bank, his most recent being the Director of Education Global Practice overseeing the operational program and assisting in strategy development and implementation of educational programs globally. He also been Sector Manager, Education, in the South Asia region for six years overseeing lending and analytical education programs for the Region. In addition, he has lead teams in skills development and school education projects and contributed to analytical and operational work in countries in various regions of the Bank.  

Prior to joining the education team, he was with the Social Protection group where he worked on similar labour market issues in many regions. In addition, he has published numerous books, chapters and articles on education, skills development and labour market issues.

Dr. Harsha Aturupane

Dr. Harsha Aturupane is a Lead Education Specialist in the Education Global Practice of the World Bank. He has worked and written extensively in the fields of human development, education economics, higher education, general education, labour economics, health economics, and the economics of poverty and income distribution. He has led teams in the preparation and supervision of World Bank projects and programs, covering higher education, general education, health, social protection, economic reform, private sector development, and strengthening fiduciary processes. 

He has also led teams in the production of World Bank research reports including higher education, general education, vocational training and labour markets. His work experience covers countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan and the Maldives in the South Asia Region, as well as countries in Africa, East Asia, and the Middle-East. He has a Ph.D and a M.Phil in Economics from the University of Cambridge UK, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Development from the University of Colombo.

Dr. Sungsup Ra 

Dr Sungsup Ra is currently Director of the Human and Social Development Division South Asia Department in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chair of the Education Sector Group in ADB. He joined the ADB in 2001, prior to his current appointment Dr Ra has held many senior positions in the Bank, Director, Pacific Strategy and Special Operations Pacific Department, Senior Advisor to the Managing Director General, and Deputy Country Director, for Bangladesh and Nepal. 

Prior to joining the ADB, Dr. Ra had worked in many public and private entities such as Samsung and Korean National Pension. He has also taught at many leading universities in Japan, Korea, and US. He is an Author of over 50 publications, he is a regular contributor to public debates in news media and conferences on economic and human development issues. Recognised in Marquis ‘Who’s Who,’ he is also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Asia-Pacific Economy published by Routledge, United Kingdom. Dr Ra holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US. 

Gabriel Bordado 

Gabriel Bordado is a senior Skills Specialist attached to the International Labour Organization (ILO). He is currently based in Delhi India working on skills development initiatives for South Asia. Prior to this assignment Bordado worked as an International Expert for Quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Relevance of Technical Cooperation Projects being implemented in Bangladesh by the ILO. As an ILO expert, he has been working on (TVET) reform initiatives for many years. 

Bordado prior to joining the ILO has worked at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippines for more 25 years with a combined technical and management expertise in operations at the provincial, regional, and national levels. As Executive Director, he has been leading and managing a critical flagship program of TESDA – Competency Assessment and Certification for skilled workers. Bordado has a master’s degree in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines