Overseas job opportunities for the Sri Lankan labour force continued to be a vital source of employment in 2007, which recovered well from the temporary set-back in 2006. The total departures during the year 2007 at 217,306 compared with 201,948 in 2006, recorded a growth of 7.6%, stated the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Annual Report 2007.

Accordingly, the total stock of foreign employment stood at 1.6 million as at end 2007 based on the estimates of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE).

The total remittances for the year, which amounted to US $2,502 million, recorded an increase of around 15% compared to 2006. This was predominantly a result of the increase in skilled and unskilled labour migrants during this period. The Middle Eastern region continued to contribute to more than 90% of total foreign employment opportunities. However, job placements in Malaysia and South Korea recorded decreases, due to non-payment of agreed salaries for workers in Malaysia and the recruitment to South Korea was being done only through SLBFE from this year, the report noted.

The male contribution to foreign employment had been persistently increasing over the years. The share of male workers had further risen to 47% in 2007 from that of 44% in 2006.

This increase was due to high demand for skilled and unskilled jobs for males in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan, particularly in construction and manufacturing sectors.

On the other hand, the total departures for Saudi Arabia and Oman, suffered a set-back mainly due to inadequate remuneration for certain categories of employment, including housemaids. The growth in departures of females, particularly housemaids had been slow over the recent years, mainly due to availability of job opportunities in Sri Lanka, the report said.

Unskilled workers continue to account for a magnificent share of overseas employment dominated by housemaids. Though, this dominance has become weaker over the years, with the share of housemaids in foreign employment falling further from 49% in 2006 to 47% in 2007.

Concurrently, Sri Lanka has begun to explore the opportunities in various other areas of employment in the recent past.

An apprenticeship training programme in the construction sector leading to an internationally accepted certification and similar training in hospitality trade were undertaken with a view to cater to these workforce in the categories of skilled and unskilled labour, other than the housemaids, increased from 42% in 006 to 47% in 2007, the report stated.