The IT Workforce in Sri Lanka

The IT workforce in Sri Lanka mainly comprise of IT Managers, Business Analysts, Project Managers, Software Architects/Software Engineers/QA Engineers, and Hardware/Network/System Engineers. Almost all of these categories are highly in demand, but short in supply.

Hardware, Network and System Engineers demand at least a Diploma in IT and several years of hands on experience; Software Engineers, Architects demand a Degree in IT and extends over to Masters level as well. IT Managers, Project Managers are expected to have at least a Management Degree along with an arsenal of communication and management skill sets.

When considering the demand and supply of the IT workforce, an obvious observation is that Sri Lanka doesn’t have the in-house capacity to produce the required IT workforce to meet the demand; This is the case, even when all the IT Engineers graduated from all our universities, combined with private institutions output are taken. However the quality of this small output can be considered to be on par with (if not better than) global IT workforces.

The Government has a huge responsibility in implementing a national strategy that will increase the annual IT workforce output continuously. Building new Universities specializing in IT, expanding existing universities to produce more IT workforce, encouraging/helping private IT institutes, introducing more IT related subject matter at school level, as well as to broaden the IT awareness among the public in general, are some of the measures that can be taken by the government. India’s national IT strategy and its success gives us a good indication of what needs to be done by the government to increase the IT productivity as a nation.

Universities have the responsibility of improving the quality of the IT workforce produced, as well as to broaden the IT awareness of the general public. Universities need to play a larger role in inspiring the younger generation at the school level, and to help them understand the opportunities available in the IT industry and the many benefits it can provide. In my opinion the current inspirations and ambitions towards the IT industry, at the school level, is very limited and needs some major uplifting. This can be done by Universities, by organizing more interactive sessions, workshops, presentations etc. with schools.

Also the Universities have a major role in improving the IT awareness of the general public and to cultivate a more favorable perception towards IT. I feel that the current IT exhibitions etc. done by the Universities are too technically oriented, and need to focus more on the people aspect and the business aspect of IT, demonstrating the opportunities available, the financial benefits, how IT is actually helping Sri Lankan businesses to grow etc. This improvement in perception, cannot be done alone by the Universities, and needs the government support.

The IT companies are the places where the IT workforce will actually engage in productive work and produce tangible benefits. Hence they have a high responsibility in grooming the IT workforce to reach global quality and efficiency standards. This can be done by having quality training programs, continuous improvements plans etc. IT companies also have the responsibility of guiding the Universities in bridging the gap of the produced graduates skills and the actual industry demands. For example the IT industry demands very strong team playing skills along with technical skills, so producing graduates with only a high technical skill set will not suffice. Programs like “Are-You-Ready” at the University of Moratuwa, helps in this matter.