Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) offers one-stop portal for services to migrants and recruitment agencies – pre, during and after migration.

The project works with private-sector partners in the garment industry, logistics, ICT, optometry tourism and construction to make training better oriented to employment, to align on-the-job training experience with industry demands and to further increase private sector participation in technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

The successful reintegration of migrant workers once they return to Sri Lanka relies on the workers providing evidence of their expertise and experience acquired overseas. Furthermore, a worker's ability to secure employment is linked with their skills and competencies. Presenting proof of expertise and experience acquired can be difficult for low and semi-skilled returnee migrant workers and workers in Sri Lanka. Although Sri Lanka has an established national skills assessment system, there is no systematic method of recognizing the skills of workers.

Sri Lanka’s Climate Prosperity Plan aims to maximise socio-economic outcomes and wellbeing for the population of Sri Lanka. To do so, the strategy focuses on unlocking the maximum domestic renewable energy potential and enhancing resilience through nature-based solutions and financial protection.

The Project is conceived in response to various facets of labour migration, fair and ethical recruitment and sustainable reintegration, gaps and challenges relating to safe, orderly and regular labour migration and improved skills recognition, in the corridors between South and South-East Asia and the Middle East. The project is designed on the first phase of the SDC supported regional project, ìStrengthening Labour Migration Governance through Regional Cooperation in Colombo Process Countriesî.

Sri Lanka has implemented a skills passport, a portfolio that documents the skills and qualifications acquired informally by returnee migrant workers or workers in Sri Lanka. This platform allows skills matching by enabling upward employability and facilitating
the recruitment of individuals for jobs that require specific skills, filling the gaps in local and overseas labour markets (TVEC and EFC, n.d.).

The Comprehensive Information and Orientation Programme (CIOP) implemented currently in the context of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) helps operationalize a coordinated management system for the provision of tailored pre-employment, pre-departure and postarrival orientation (PEO, PDO and PAO) services for temporary contractual workers (TCWs) in the GCC states. With technical support from IOM, the governments work towards developing a CIOP regional guide and a corresponding management system, which will then be tailored to operations in the specific country contexts of ADD Member States.

Some countries offer health coverage for their citizens who move abroad, e.g. Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

The PhilHealth program for OFWs allows members to avail themselves of PhilHealth benefits even if they are confined in hospitals abroad. At the same time, their qualified dependents in the Philippines may avail themselves of the benefits even if the principal is working overseas.

Sri Lanka is one of the South Asian countries which is negatively affected by the climate change. This includes natural disasters such as flood, earth slips, cyclones and droughts etc. These unexpected and unforeseen disasters not only dislocate the people from their dwellings but also make a significant negative impact on their livelihood.

Sri Lanka has established an inter-ministerial and inter-agency coordination framework for migration health and development comprised of a National Steering Committee on Migration Health (inter-ministerial), a National Migration Health Task Force (inter-agency and inter-ministerial) and a Migration Health Secretariat. The Secretariat coordinates the national migration health agenda housed within the Ministry of Health and supported by IOM.