Progression of the country depends on the knowledge, skills and efficiency of the citizens as a whole as indicated in the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour manifesto of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

However, being under long termed colonial administration and ruling, the mentality of the majority of the people changed which resulted in unproductive livelihood empowerment seeking the white collared jobs, for sustenance. The traditional lifestyle was abandoned gradually while the children in the affluent and elite class in society received higher education in foreign universities and higher education institutes, to obtain professional qualifications.

Today, local universities are mainly designed to produce a large number of Art graduates annually whose only dream is to get absorbed in to the government sector job market whereas a large number of vacancies is available in the private sector in the field of information technology health care, engineering, management and business administration requiring in most cases the fluency in the English language of which majority of young graduates are not adequately armed with.

School-leavers

Thousands of school-leavers at the GCE ordinary or the Advanced Level are deprived of getting proper job opportunities in the government and the private sector in a situation that they have been distancing from village level agriculture activities inherited from their parents. The Government while facing challenges added to the coronavirus pandemic has taken action to open the door for government jobs to around 55,000 graduates suffering for years in need of some life empowerment support demanding the rulers that they shall be employed.

However, as a concept of the President adhering to his policy statement, the Department of Multi-Purpose Development Task Force was established to do justice for the low income citizens with minimum educational qualifications and making these frustrated people majority of them are young the partners of the national economy and development to enhance human resources to strengthen the labour market.

This department, a turning point in the history of provision of job opportunities in the Government sector was established in accordance with a Cabinet decision No CP/19/3388/201/004 dated December 19, 2019, under the Ministry of Defence. Subsequently this institute was affiliated to the public security Ministry and later by extraordinary gazette No 2238/19 of July 29, 2021 made to be under the Defence Ministry.

Vocational training

Initially 100,000 persons from families who are supposed to be the poorest of the poor including Samurdhi recipients with minimum educational qualifications in every part of the country were to be selected and provided with a formal vocational training to be employed in primary grade vacancies in Government and semi-Government institutions. These work assistants at professional level are empowered to be deployed in private sector employment as required as well as for the needs of foreign labour market. All administrative and supervisory activities of the multi-purpose development assistants are performed by the new department called the Department of Multi-purpose Development Task Force.

According to the labour force surveys conducted at the end of 2020, the estimated economically active population had been 8.5 million, of which 66.3 percent are males and 33.7 percent are females.

The number of unemployed persons has been estimated as 441,997 during the fourth quarter of 2020. The unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 is 5.2 percent.

According to Major General Nandasiri Mallawaarachchi (Rtd) who is the Director General of the Department of Multi-purpose Development Task force, the vision of the department is “a proud, disciplined and capable, satisfied young workforce”, whereas the mission is “for providing a qualitative vocational training mainly to low income youth who have missed the minimum educational opportunities and making them active partners in national economic development.”

“This is the first time in Sri Lanka that a large number of people is recruited to the public service following a formal training. The opportunity was made open for all Sri Lankans to apply for vocational training on January 20, 2020 under the first phase and applications closed on February 15, 2020. Consequently, 645,608 persons directed for interviews in 332 Divisional Secretary’s divisions and 34,066 persons were referred for job training at the commencement of the first phase,” Mallawarachchi said.

Vocational training of NVQ level – 3 is provided to the trainees during six months by the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority. Training is provided under 25 vocational sectors in view of the talents, skills and the preferences of the trainees. The persons who got the appointment for the training expected to report to the Divisional Secretariat. The vocation for which the person should be trained is determined subsequent to a skill test within the first week of the training period.

According to the management service circular No 2/25020, filling vacancies in the primary grades in the public service has been suspended and the departments and agencies have been instructed to recruit persons through multi-purpose development task force assistants.

Essential services and the majority of government institutes functioning in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic have been provided the assistance of the multipurpose development assistants waiting to be detailed for jobs disregarding their specific fields of vocational training. Some 3,000 multipurpose development assistants have been attached to hospitals and intermediary quarantine centres for pandemic prevention duties.

Primary job categories

The Department assists in providing manpower concerning primary job categories in road development, tank rehabilitation, carbonic fertiliser production, environment and coast guarding, preservation of archaeological monuments and narcotic prevention programs.

At the request of the Education Ministry, these multipurpose development assistants are being deployed in the task of performing schools security and other routine school labour activities.

Although it was planned to activate phase two of the recruitment of 35,000 qualified persons for training, on the instructions of the Government, the program has been limited drastically.

It had been proposed to deploy them in human-elephant conflict areas including the protection of the electrified fence system and to fill the vacancies in primary grades waiting to be filled in the Colombo district.

However, a batch of 4,509 trainees has been issued appointment letters for electric fence maintenance and protection duties on the request of the Wildlife Conservation Department in the last quarter of 2021. The National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) makes arrangements to grant them the NVQ – 3 level on electric fence maintenance.

It is expected to refer these employees qualified with training to foreign job opportunities with the agreement of the Foreign Employment Bureau. Multi-purpose development assistants are being encouraged to contribute to social welfare activities. For example, a blood donation campaign was held in December covering the Northern Province in Mullathivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna in collaboration with Medical Health officers. Trainees attached to the Horowpothana Sri Lanka Transport Board Depot have repaired a discarded bus enabling it to be put in transport service again.

Mallawaarachchi said, “It has been planned to commence phase three of the training program in 2022 under the auspices of the Treasury. We will issue appointment letters to around 34,000 trainees who have gained the NVQ – 3 qualifications.”