Tourism Skills Strategy and · Figure 2.7 Skill deficits among high skilled workers 12 Figure 2.8...

TRINCOMALEE

BATTICALOA

AMPARA

POLONNARUWA

Tourism Skills Strategy and Action Planfor Batticaloa

Tourism Skills Strategy and Action Plan for Batticaloa District

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. vii

Section: 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Background ................................................................................................................................. 1

1.3 Objectives .................................................................................................................................... 2

1.4 Approach used to develop the SSAP ........................................................................................... 2

1.5 Content of the SSAP ........................................................................................................................ 3

Section 2: Development potential and strategic direction of the Tourism sector in Batticaloa District

............................................................................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4

2.2 The Macro Economy ................................................................................................................... 4

2.3 The regional economy ................................................................................................................. 5

2.4 Tourism sector in Batticaloa district ........................................................................................... 1

2.5 Skills gap analysis ........................................................................................................................ 4

2.6 Policy Directions for the Tourism sector: national and district level ........................................ 10

2.7 Institutional support system ..................................................................................................... 12

Section: 3 Challenges, Strategies and Action Plan for skills development ......................................... 17

3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 17

3.2 Stage of skills development in Batticaloa district ..................................................................... 17

3.3 Challenges and opportunities for skill development ................................................................ 18

3.4 Vision for the skills development of Tourism Sector in Batticaloa District ............................... 20

3.5 Strategies and action plan for skills development .................................................................... 21

Section 4: Summary, Implementation and progress monitoring .......................................................... 1

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1

4.2 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1

4.3 Implementation and progress monitoring .................................................................................. 1


List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Guest Nights in Tourist Hotels in Batticaloa District, 2016 6

Figure 2.2 Guest Nights in Tourist Hotels in Batticaloa District, 2014 & 2016 7

Figure 2.3 Life Cycle of Tourism Industry in Batticaloa District 8

Figure 2.4 Top 60 percent Vacancies in Tourism Sub-sector, 2017 9

Figure 2.5 Percentage of respondents with vacancies 10

Figure 2.6 Percentage of respondents with vacancies by sub-sector 10

Figure 2.7 Skill deficits among high skilled workers 12

Figure 2.8 Skill deficits among medium skilled workers 12

Figure 2.9 Skill deficits among low skilled workers 13

Figure 2.10 Target population for TVET courses in Batticaloa district 21

Figure 3.1 Stage of skills development in Batticaloa district 23

Figure 3.2 SWOT analysis on skills development of tourism in Batticaloa 24

Figure 3.3 Transformation framework for skills development in Batticaloa district 28

Figure 3.4 balancing of key themes of skills strategy in Batticaloa district 28

Figure 3.5 Projected increase in guest nights in Batticaloa district (000) 35

List of Tables

1.

2.1 Institutional providing training in Batticaloa district 18

2.2 Tourism related training programmes offered by the Miani Technical Institute 19

3.1 Challenges of skills development in Batticaloa district 23

3.2 SWOT Analysis on skills development of Tourism industry in Batticaloa 24

3.3 Core demand and supply strategies and interventions for implementation 29 3.4 Tourism sector skills development Action Plan for Batticaloa, 2018-2020 30


List of Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank

BOI Board of Investment

CBSL Central Bank of Sri Lanka

CGOs Career Guidance Officers

DCC District Coordinating Committee

DCS Department of Census and Statistics

DoA Department of Ayurveda

DOS Development Officers

DoSS Department of Social Services

EUSL Eastern University of Sri Lanka

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

F&B Food & Beverages

GCE General Certificate of Education

GCI Global Competitiveness Index

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GJI Gem and Jewellery Industry

GoSL Government of Sri Lanka

HRD Human Resource Development

H&T Hotel and Tourism

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IE Informal Economy

IT Information Technology

MLRM Ministry of Labour Relations and Manpower

MoF Ministry of Finance

ITA National Industrial Training Authority

NPD National Planning Department

MID Ministry of Industrial Development

MoTDCRA Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs

MSE Micro and Small scale Enterprises

MSME Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises

MST Ministry of Science and Technology


NCC National Crafts Council

R&D Research and Development

QLFS Quarterly Labour Force Survey

SDOs Social Development Officers

SL School leavers

SLITHM Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management

SLTDA Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority

SME Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

S4IG Skills for Inclusive Growth

TVEC Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission

UoM University of Malaysia

UoR University of the Rajarata

UoS University of Sabaragamuwa

VTA Vocational Training Authority


Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the stakeholders who supported the Strategic Skills Development

Programme (SSDP) for Batticaloa district by taking part in the discussions, e-mail

communications and consultations.

We would specifically like to thank Mr. M. Uthayakumar, the GA, Mrs. S. Srikanth, the Additional

GA, Mr. R. Neduncheliyan, Director Planning, Mr. S. Nesarajah Chief Accountant and Mr. A.

Navesvaran Asst. District Secretary for their committed interest and administrative support in

preparing the SSDP for Batticaloa.

We would also like to thank employers of the tourism sector in Batticaloa district, officials of the

Divisional Secretariats, and TVET training institutions in Batticaloa and officials of the MSDVT,

TVEC and SLTDA in Colombo for sharing information and guiding us throughout the study.


Executive Summary

Batticaloa is one of the most picturesque districts in the island well known for beautiful lagoons, longest beach, flora and wildlife, and historical sites. It is gifted with several environmental assets highly attractive to guests from foreign and local markets. However, tourism industry in Batticaloa district has not been able to gain full benefits of its resources due to institutional and market failures. This has been exacerbated by skill gaps and labour shortages, all of which impact negatively on the growth potential of the tourism industry in the district. The most significant demand and supply constraints are summarized as follows:

Demand side Supply side

• Failure to market Batticaloa as a tourist destination

• The tourism narrowly focused upon the sub-sectors of hotels, guest house and restaurant sector

• Low levels of skills of the employed in the tourism sector

• Low preference towards tourism sector jobs by new entrants to the labour market

• Dominance of micro and small-scale establishments (MSMEs)

• Lack of Public Private Partnership

• Inadequate investments in skills

development • Narrow programme mix

• Presence of multi-institutional structure and weak coordination

• Limited opportunities for vulnerable groups

• Absence of local flexibility in delivery

• Small numbers employed in the tourism and hospitality sector

The tourism industry in Batticaloa district is also gifted with several opportunities for growth and development, including the following:

• Increasing demand from foreign and local guests

• Unexploited tourism related assets e.g. Strategic location, Heritage sites, Eco-tourism, Community Tourism

• Pro- private sector policy of the government

• Around 8000 school leavers join the labour market on annual basis after OL (3700) and AL (1700) examinations. Another 2000 also join the labour market with AL qualifications.

• Development Partners’ willingness to participate in human capital development activities initiated by the government

Existing institutional support system however seem to be a major constraint on skills development of tourism industry in Batticaloa district. A collaborative and inclusive approach by all stakeholder groups is the best option for skills development and inclusive growth of tourism in Batticaloa district. The skills strategy and action plan (SSAP) provides the framework for tackling the constraints, addressing skills and labour shortages, and for responding to the opportunities outlined above. The SSAP provides strategic direction for skills development of tourism sector for the next 3 years: 2018 to 2020 and consists of nine core strategies, 18 interventions and 24 action programmes including possible partner organizations and service providers for implementation. The SSAP is guided by policy directives and action programmes of the government at national, provincial and district level. It is also based on empirical evidence on the tourism industry and extensive consultations with government representatives, private sector and the donor


community particularly at district level. The methodological approach employed in the preparation of the SSAP is illustrated below.

In order to realize the full development potential of the tourism industry, skills development efforts need to be transformed from low-skill equilibrium to a high-skilled equilibrium stage. For this purpose, 9 core strategies have been developed under the following transformational themes:

• Attraction of school leavers and retention of existing workers,

• Promoting inclusive growth and

• Institutional and business support In order to attract school leavers and retain existing workers the following strategies will be implemented:

• Demand generation (support increased demand for employment in tourism)

• Human capital formation (facilitate up-skilling and re-skills of the existing workforce)

• Promote Public-Private-Partnership (Expand service mix with new and higher level quality skills programs for tourism and related value chains )

On the second thematic area, promotion of inclusive growth, the focus will be upon:

• Promote product diversification and value chain benefits of tourism

• Empowerment of vulnerable groups (encourage more females to enter the sector, increase access to training for those with disability thorugh incentives and different measures)

• Support environmental sustainability (educate employers on waste management technology and promotion of the local ecology)

The final transformational theme, the strengthening institutional and business support systems includes the following strategies:

• Social marketing (conduct tourism awareness and improve water and sanitation facilities)

• Business development (promote economic activities using business incubators)

• Strengthen institutional support (build capacity of government planners and support training providers to deliver quality learning outcomes)

A total of 24 action programmes have been identified to elevate the tourism industry in Batticaloa district towards a high-skilled equilibrium stage by 2020. Some of the key action programmes include:

• Provision of basic training under the Basic Skills Project

• Vocational English for enterprises operating in Tourism sector

• Support job matching systems • First aid training for Tour Guide

• Accredited training for tour guiding • Skills development in E-Marketing

• Incentives to promote re-entry to the labour market among middle aged unemployed single headed household women, war widow’s females

• Key skill programmes targeted at vulnerable groups e.g. training of persons with disability in selected trades: Culinary & Cookery, Entrepreneurship etc.

• Scholarships for persons with disability to follow courses targeted at tourism sector,

• New courses developed for Beautician


The low demand for tourism sector jobs will be transformed with the support of several programmes including awareness programmes to educate school leavers on available job opportunities and career prospects in tourism sector, supporting to develop career guidance information for school leavers e.g. leaflets, role models, videos, etc. The action programmes also cover community participation in tourism (e.g. Promote local village life e.g. Fishing Communities, Handicrafts Industry, Palmy rah industry), develop information systems, product diversification, multi-skilled training and networking of enrolment relating to tourism related trades. The funding for implementation comes from government led initiatives and the government

working in partnership with development partners, NGOs and employers. The SSAP presents a

real opportunity for the district to develop collective responses to its skills and employment

challenges, through embracing strong stakeholder partnership. Some of the donors have already

initiated several action programmes to promote skill development in tourism industry in

Batticaloa district. Hence, the SSAP is well placed to consolidate these initiatives with a clear

focus on inclusive growth. It is proposed to set up a District Action Committee (DAC) headed by

the GA as a mechanism to implement action programmes identified in the SSAP. It also requires

well-coordinated collaboration by all the key holders of the tourism industry.

The estimated employment impact of the SSAP would be around 2,000 workers covering both in

direct and indirect employment. The quality of employment will be raised in terms of cognitive,

non-cognitive and soft skills. In terms of guest nights, the increase would be in the range of

662,000 to 697,000 guest nights in 2020. The incremental income benefit from foreign guests

would be in the range of US$ 94 to 99 Mns in 2020. Given the inclusive character of the SSAP, it

is expected that these benefit streams would percolate down to a cross section of vulnerable

groups in the district and lead to reductions in unemployment, inequity and poverty.

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SECTION ONE

Introduction

1.1: Introduction

Batticaloa is the eastern capital of Sri Lanka. It is gifted with beautiful lagoons, historical sites, islands, bridges, flora and wild life. Batticaloa Lagoon is one of the longest with widespread mangroves and sea grass beds that attract a wide variety of water birds. The Lady Manning Bridge located at Kallady, is the biggest in the island and connects the city from the southern point of the district. The land scape is varied with coastal areas, low land paddy fields, scrub lands, wetlands and lagoons and forests rich with flora and wildlife. It’s a multi-ethnic and multi-religious district characterized by colorful festivals such as Mamangam festival, Thanthamalai festival, and the St. Maries feast.

Administratively, Batticaloa District is divided into 14 Divisional Secretariats representing 345 Grama Niladhari Divisions and 966 villages. Batticaloa District covers an area around 2,633 square kilometers, which is about 3.8 percent of Sri Lanka's total land area. The population of the District is around 595,819 and comprise of 141,808 male-headed households and 31,696 women-headed households. Another important target audience vital in promoting inclusive growth is vulnerable groups. The estimated disabled persons and ex-combatants in the district are around 7,734 and 487 persons respectively. The total number of Samurdhi beneficiaries who are considered to be poor and deserving income support from the government is 78, 501 families.1

Batticaloa has been one of the most popular destinations for tourism since early centuries. Its location, environmental and cultural diversity attracts guests both from foreign and domestic sources. Some of the key attractions include lagoons (Batticaloa, Valaichenai and Panichchankerny), sandy beaches (Pasikkudah, Kallady, Savukkady and Panichchankerny), natural reserve – forest park (Unnichchai, Kudumpimalai), cultural places (Kokadicholai Thaanthondiswarar Kovil, Amirthakali Mamankam kovil, Aeithyamalai church, Kattankudy Jamiul – Laffridin grant Jummah mosque, Mangalaramaya temple) and archeological sites (Batticaloa Dutch fort). The district capital Batticaloa is 216 km away from Colombo and is well connected to other parts of the country through its road network and railway service.

1.2: Background

The Skills for Inclusive Growth (S4IG) program is an initiative of the Australian Government’s aid program and is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training (MSDVT), Tourism Authorities, Provincial and District Level Administration, Industry and Community Organizations and the donor community. The Program will improve the tourism value chain in Batticaloa district through an integrated approach to skills development. The main focus of the S4IG is to create sustainable jobs and to enhance income of marginalized groups, including the disadvantaged and people with disabilities and women. Its goal is to enhance the capacity of skills development planning at district level, improve coordination, reduce

mismatches and generate demand for skills. Further, strategies will be adopted to shift

1 District Resource Profile, 2017.

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the informal sector towards more formal, and improve productivity in the tourism value chain, leading to inclusive growth and sustainability. 1.3: Objectives

The main objective of the Skills Strategy and Action Plan (SSAP) for Batticaloa district is to promote inclusive growth in the regional economy by transforming ongoing development efforts to create a sustainable, dynamic, entrepreneurial and innovative culture, responsive to future business opportunities. More specific objectives are:

• To identify the main challenges facing skills development of Tourism and related value chain sectors in the district.

• To consolidate strategic direction of skills development of the tourism industry in line with national, provincial and district level stakeholders.

• To develop an action plan to promote skills development of tourism industry using collaborative and inclusive approach.

1.4: Approach used to develop the SSAP

The analysis for the SSAP is based on existing body of data and research evidence on growth performance and skills development of tourism industry at the national, provincial and district level. In terms of policy direction, it is guided by the following policy documents used at national, provincial and district level:2

National level

• Public Investment Programme, 2017-2020

• Tourism Strategic Plan 2017-2020,

• Vision 2025, A Country Enriched and

• Budget Speech, 2018 Provincial level

• Medium Term Development Plan, Eastern Province, 2017-2020

• NECCODEP North East Coastal Community Development Project (2010)3

• VET Plan for the Eastern Province

• Eastern Province Strategic Action Plan 2018-2019, S4IG -2017

District and Divisional Secretariat level

• Consolidated District Annual Implementation Programme, 2017,

• Batticaloa District UDA Batticaloa Development Plan 20304

• Tourism Development Projects by Batticaloa District Secretariat5.

• Annual Performance Report (2016), Batticaloa District

2 For details see Section 2.3 of Chapter 2. 3 Ministry of Nation Building and Cultural Affairs 4 Prepared by the Urban Development Authority (UDA, 2017) 5 Refers to projects implemented by the District Secretariat with funding support from the Ministry of

Tourism development and Christian Religious Affairs.

3


The SSAP is also based on consultations with key stakeholder groups such as business owners, policy makers & administrators at national, provincial and district level, training providers (both public and non-public), employees in tourism & related industries and job seekers. The analytical framework is guided by labour market equilibrium models employed in the literature on skills development. The assessment covers status of the tourism industry at district level, challenges in skills development, strategic options and action plan for implementation over the next three years e.g. 2018-2020. The potential beneficiaries of the SSAP include wide cross-section of individuals including females, disabled persons and PWDs.

1.5: Content of the SSAP

The Chapter two provides the foundational knowledge base for strategic direction and preparation of action plans for skills development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district. Chapter 3 presents stage of tourism sector skills development in Batticalow district, challenges and opportunities, vision and mission, strategies and action programmes. Finally, chapter 4 presents a brief summary of SSAP and the mechanism for

implementation and progress monitoring.

.

4


SECTION TWO

Development Potential and Strategic Direction of the Tourism Sector in

Batticaloa District

2.1: Introduction

This section presents the current status of the tourism industry in Batticaloa district focusing upon: the macro economy, the regional economy, tourism sector in Batticaloa district, skills gap analysis, policy directives for tourism sector development, institutional support system and training providers. This foundational knowledge base provides the basis for industry specific strategy formulation and preparation of action plans for skills

development.

2.2: The Macro Economy

Sri Lanka, is a middle-income economy with a per capita income of US$ 3,835 in 2016 and has performed relatively well since 2009. The small economy has shown resilience in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and following the resolution of the internal conflict, with an average annual real GDP growth rate of 5 percent between 2010 and 2015. Since then, it has reduced to 4.4 in 2016 and projected growth rate over the next three years is around 5 percent. Sri Lanka's tourism sector has exhibited strong growth in recent years, achieving a 14.2 percent compound average growth rate, as it has benefited from policy initiatives and investment incentives by the government during the post conflict period. The services sector dominates both in terms of contribution to GDP6 and employment.7 The rate of unemployment is 4.2 percent at national level and 2.7 and 6.8 percent among males and females respectively.

Tourism is one of the largest and vibrant industries and important foreign exchange earners in the national economy. Tourist arrivals in 2017 increased by 3.2 percent to 2,116,407 compared to 2016. The sector has a significant impact on the economy as it is the third-largest foreign exchange earner, contributing over 12 percent to the foreign exchange earned in 2016. Tourist arrivals have increased to 2,050,832 (14% growth) and earnings per average room night have increased from $164.1 to $168.2 between 2015 and 2016. The share of domestic and foreign tourism in Sri Lanka is 35 and 65 percent respectively in 2016. Employment in the tourism sector (both direct and indirect) increased by 6.3 percent making 312,186 employees in 2016. Over 80 percent of direct employment is in the hotels and restaurants sector while travel agents & tour operators, airlines and tour guides accounts for 7, 5 and 3 percent of total employment respectively. Majority of the employees belong to technical, clerical, allied & supervisory level occupations (47.8%) while the rest are employed in manual & operative (38.5%) and managerial, scientific & professional occupations (13.8%).

In the global competitiveness index for Travel and Tourism, Sri Lanka ranked at 63rd out of 141 countries in 2015 while some of its competitors such as India, Thailand and

6 The GDP shares for Agriculture, industry and services sectors were 8, 30 and 62 percent

respectively in 2016. 7 The employment shares for Agriculture, Industry and Services sectors were 24, 29 and 47 percent

respectively in the 3rd quarter of 2017.

5


Malaysia were placed at 52ed, 35th and 25th positions in the same year. Its relative competitiveness is significantly low in Cultural Resources and Business Travel. Similarly, its ranking is low relative to Asia Pacific region in terms of Human Resources and Labour Market and ICT readiness.

2.3: The regional economy

Batticaloa district accounts for about 1.2 percent of GDP and 2.1 percent of the total labour force or (e.g. 172,278). The rate of unemployment and underemployment is 5.2 and 1.7 percent respectively. The District has about 49,850 Agriculture families and about 24,943 fishing families. The total number of employed and unemployed is estimated to be around 163,292 and 8986 of the total labour force. 8 The estimated number of unemployed by gender is around 2468 and 6518 for males and females respectively.9 Poverty levels10in Batticaloa (11.3%) is higher relative to the Eastern province (7.3%) and National level (4.1%). Mean household per capita income per month in Batticaloa is Rs. 10,935 as against Rs.11, 259 and Rs.16, 377 for Eastern Province and Sri Lanka respectively (Annex 1). The Agriculture and fishery sector dominates both in terms of employment and output of the district. Fishing is second only to the paddy cultivation. In addition, Livestock is an important livelihood activity in the district. Neat cattle, Buffaloes, Goats and Chickens are major source of the activities. The manufacturing sector comprise of 312 establishments11 employing about 11, 400 persons (DCS, 2017, June). Large numbers of Industrial Establishments are mainly situated in Batticaloa Town and Kattankudy. All these are on small scale Except the National Paper Corporation at Valaichenai and a Garment factory at Batticaloa Town. The rest are in Light Engineering, Weaving, Rice Milling, and Pottery, Mat-Weaving, Coir and Brick manufacturing. The services sector of the district include several subsectors with high growth potential e.g. wholesale& retail trade, transport & storage, public administration, health & education and accommodation & food services.

Timely data on employment levels in the tourism industry is not available for the district

of Batticaloa. Signals on the numbers employed in hotels/guest houses and the

restaurant sub-sector can be obtained from unpublished LFS data for 2014 (see

figure…)12. Analysis of this data shows that the size of the labour force in 2014 was

97,000, out of which 154,171 were employed and a much smaller 7,796 were

unemployed. There were considerable gender imbalances for those who were

employed and unemployed. The average unemployment for the Eastern District is 3%

for males and 7% for females, but in Batticaloa the corresponding figures are 1.8% for

males and 12.1% for females, but in Batticaloa the corresponding average

8 Figures refer to 2016 data. 9 The rate of unemployment among males and females is 2% and 12.8% respectively. See DCS, 2017. 10 Measured in terms of Head Count Ratio (HCI). 11 88% of them are micro (5 persons or less) establishments. 12 The data on specific occupations were calculated using unpublished data for aggregate data for

hotels and guest houses, and also food and beverage. The specific ratios for skilled occupation levels

were based on national ratios for Sri-Lanka and probably over-estimate the proportion working in

higher skilled occupations for the tourism and hospitality sectors. The data on migration is based on

average ratios for migration in Batticaloa and were applied to the former occupational categories of

hotels and guest houses, and food and beverage. These are proxies and provide accurate signals on

occupational trends for the tourism and hospitality sector in Batticaloa.

6


unemployment figures are 1.8% for males and 12.1% for females – highlighting the

difficulties faced by women in accessing jobs in this district. In Batticaloa there are

117,170 males unemployed, compared to a smaller 37,001 females. This highlights the

smaller number of job opportunities available for women. Other important employment

issues to raise are as follows:

• Age is an important factor since it helps determine the focus of interventions and whom should be the target for the Action Plan. Youth always find it difficult to access the labour market due to their lack of skills, knowledge and industrial experience. However, the number of youths entering the labour market in Batticaloa are small. There are much larger number of potential workers in the 30 to 39, and 40 to 49 years old category, suggesting where interventions need to be targeted.

• The type of work being undertaken has implications for the type of skills being developed and how they will be delivered. The overwhelming majority of people work in the informal sector (70%) and even those working in the formal sector are probably engaged in non-standard forms of employment, such as temporary work, contract work, self-employment or part-time work. These finding suggest that traditional module training leading to occupationally based qualifications are only part of the solution. Emphasis should also be given to multi-skilling that cuts across occupations.

• The actual numbers working in the tourism and hospitality sector are small and the evidence indicates that they are primarily located in the hotel and guest sub-sector, as well as the food and beverage sub-sector. This shows where the majority of jobs are being created. More specific information on the type of occupations by skill level is show in figure and highlights that an overwhelming 50% of jobs are found in the semi-skilled or un-skilled occupations. Only a small 12% of jobs in the hotel or food and beverage sub-sectors could be classified as highly skilled, with minimal opportunities at the middle skilled occupation.

• A final employment issues to highlight is the number of people migrating from the district. This is much larger than in other districts and is predominantly in the tourism sector due to the limited opportunities for career advancement and the lack of standard full-time formal sector employment. The data highlights that a significant number of skilled workers leave the district each year. According to interviews with those working in the sector young people leave Batticaloa once they have acquired skills and move overseas. This is not bad news for Batticaloa since most people work overseas for a couple of years, returning to the sector at a managerial level when they have acquired more experience.

Batticaloa is a popular tourism place for centuries. There are many places of interests in Batticaloa for foreign and local visitors. Lagoon (Batticaloa, Valaichenai and Panichchankerny), Sandy beaches (Pasikkudah, Kallady, Savukkady and Panichchankerny), Natural reserve – forest park (Unnichchai, Kudumpimalai), cultural places (Kokadicholai Thaanthondiswarar Kovil, Amirthakali Mamankam kovil, Aeithyamalai church, Kattankudy Jamiul – Laffridin grant Jummah mosque, Mangalaramaya temple), Archeological site (Batticaloa Dutch Fort).

1


Figure 2.1: Indicative signals on the numbers working in the tourism Industry in Batticaloa

Total Employment in Batticaloa

154,171

Employment by age in Batticaloa

Age No.

15 to 19 9,250

20 to 24 16,958

30 to 39 38,542

40 to 49 37,001

50 to 59 30,834

60 to 64 9,250

Employment by gender in

Batticaloa

No. of females37,001

No. of males

117,170

Total Employment in Batticaloa by informal and formal sector

No. working in the

formal sector 46,252

No. working in the

informal sector 107,919

No. Employed in Tourism and Hospitality in Batticaloa

5,687

No. Employed in hotels & guest houses by occupation

No. Employed in food and beverage by occupation

High Skill 141

Medium Skill 67

Clerical/Sales 166

Skilled 207

Semi-skill 276

Unskilled 255

Total 1,112

High Skill 581

Medium Skill 275

Clerical/Sales 682

Skilled 856

Semi-skill 1135

Unskilled 1046

Total 4575

Estimated loss by migration per year by occupation

High Skill 7

Medium Skill 46

Clerical/Sales 161

Skilled 218

Semi-skill 9

Unskilled 509

Total 950

Size of Labour force in Batticaloa

161,967

Total No. Unemployed

7,796

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2.4:Tourism sector in Batticaloa district

The total market size is around 30, 000 guests per month and it is shared among foreign and local guests by 69 and 31 percent respectively. Monthly guest nights by local and foreign guests are analyzed in Figure 2.2 and Foreign and domestic sectors have grown at 19 and 8 percent per annum between 2014 and 2016 (Figure 2.3). Overall growth is 16 percent per annum for the same period.

Note: Includes classified, unclassified and boutique hotels only. Source: SLTDA (2018)

Note: Includes classified, unclassified and boutique hotels only. Source: SLTDA (2018)

The SLTDA data bases indicate a total of 42 establishments operating in the formal sector of tourism industry in Batticaloa district. The National Economic Census of 2013/14 reported 3590 establishments operating in accommodation and food services sub-sector in Batticaloa district. District Statistics Handbook (2016) indicates 548 restaurants and cafeteria registered with local authorities in Batticaloa district. One of the key characteristics of tourism sector enterprises in the district is the dominance of small and

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Figure 2.2: Guest nights in Tourist hotels in Batticaloa District - 2016

Foreign

Local

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Nu

mb

er o

f G

ues

ts

Figure 2.3: Guest nights in Tourist hotels in Batticaloa District-2014 & 2016

2014 2016

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micro level enterprises. In terms of employment, micro establishments (employing 10 or less) account for 74 percent of total employment while small (11-50 persons) and medium scale (51-200 persons) establishments share 17 and 9 percent of employment respectively. In terms of turnover however, large (Rs.751 + Mns) and medium (Rs.251-750 Mns) scale establishments account for 21 and 5 percent of total establishments in the tourism industry. The rest is shared by small (Rs.16-250 Mns -) and micro (Less than 15 Rs. Mns) with relative shares of 39 and 35 percent respectively14.

Tourism is a major service-oriented industry in Batticaloa with high potential for job creation, income generation, reducing inequity and poverty and promoting inclusive growth. It is endowed with several resources which could be developed and marketed to attract high volume of guests both from foreign and domestic sources. It has the longest beach and world famous for sun and sand tourism. Its tourism related assets also include several lagoons, forest areas with wild life, and places of historical and cultural value. Pasikuda Beach and Kalkuda Beach are well recognized as major tourist attractions in the region—owing to their rich and white sandy shores where visitors walk barefoot. Batticaloa district has some of the loveliest coral reef bays and lagoon beaches. The reef protected twin bay beaches and shallow bays of Pasikuda and Kalkudah make up an ideal stretch for swimming, windsurfing and snorkeling. This one of a kind reef system in Sri Lanka has been declared a Marine Sanctuary by NARA. There are other stunning beaches in the District like the Kallady beach, Nasivanthivu Beach, Navalady beach and Vakarai beach. Other interesting sites within the District include the Old Dutch Fort, and Muhathuwaram lighthouse. Important beaches are Kallady beach, Pasikuda beach and Kalkuda beaches. Noteworthy parks include: Mahatma Gandhi Park, Batticaloa Lagoon Park, and Eco Park. At present, the tourist traffic is largely concentrated in the coastal side of the district. This could be expanded to promote potential tourist attractions such as Community Tourism, Eco-Tourism, Lagoon Tourism, and Historical and Cultural tourism.

Notes: Scenario- 1 is based on 15 and 2 percent growth for foreign and local guests respectively

Scenario - 2 is based on 18 and 5 percent growth for foreign and local guests respectively

14 Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017b

423491

569

662

423499

589

697

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2017 2018 2019 2020

Figure2.4: Projected increase in guest nights: Batticaloa District (000)

Scenario 01 Scenario 02

3


The net impact of these interventions would be an increase in productivity and competitiveness of tourism industry in Batticaloa district. As a result, the guest nights in Batticaloa district is expected to reach 662,000 under scenario 1 and 697,000 under scenario 2 respectively in 2020 (Figure 2.4). In terms of income from foreign guests it would be in the range of US$ 94 to 97 Mns in 2020.

Figure: 2.5 Life Cycle of Tourism industries in Batticaloa district

The development potential of tourism industry in Batticaloa district is not fully exploited. During the post-conflict period the tourism industry has emerged as a key growth sector with heavy investments by the private sector to enhance accommodation facilities and public-sector investments in infrastructure development. As stated in National Tourism Strategy, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry lies along the continuum from exploration to development depending on the destination. In this continuum, Batticaloa is placed at early stage of development characterized by high investments and increasing demand during the post-2009 period (Figure 2.5).

No

of T

ou

rists

Time

Exploration

Involvement

Development

Consolidation

Decline

Stagnation

Rejuvenation

B

A

T

T

I

n

a

r

u

w

a Source: Butler (1980)

4


The tourism sector in Batticaloa is anticipated to undergo significant changes due to several factors such as increasing trend of tourist arrivals at national level, competition from other local tourism locations, on-going infrastructure development work and the levels of disposable income available for recreational activities. Currently, the district is undergoing a major development programme initiated through "MDP” and it envisions the development of all sectors including comprehensive development of roads, electricity, agriculture, health and environment. Over the past ten years, the district has benefitted from significant investments in infrastructure, ranging from construction of

Enterprise Survey,2017 main roads connecting adjoining cities, with high tourist attraction, infrastructure development of education, training, health and telecommunication sectors. Other important capital projects in the district include investments in integrated health and care and improved access to energy. These developments are reshaping the district’s development path and provide new opportunities for growth and development of the tourism industry. In addition to public and private sector contributions, the NGOs and the donor community have also made a significant contribution towards the development of tourism industry in Batticaloa district.

2.5: Skills gap analysis

Tourism is one of the high growth sectors seriously affected by skill gaps. As revealed in Labour Demand Survey (DCS, 2017) there are about 10207 unfilled vacancies in the tourism sector and 60 percent of them are in seven major occupation categories (Figure 2.7).

95

80

26

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

TRINCOMALEE

AMPARA

BATTICALOA

Figure 2.6: Percentage of respondents with Vacancy

5


Source: Department of Census and Statistics ,2017.

This analysis shows skill gaps in terms of quantity and quality of skills for tourism industry in Batticaloa district. Skill gaps in quantitative terms is measured based on survey evidence of a cross sectional sample of 113 firms or 19 percent of establishments operating in tourism industry in Batticaloa district. Skill shortages occur where the demand for a certain occupation outstrips the supply of that occupation. The available evidence from a survey of skill shortages identified that 26 percent of establishments in Batticaloa experienced vacancies, significantly smaller than other districts in the Eastern Province. According to employers around 17 percent of hotels surveyed in Batticaloa experience a vacancy, compared to a smaller 9 percent for guest houses. The top five vacancies were found in the following occupations: cooks, front office staff managers, waiters, receptionists, and guest house officers. The occupations that are most difficult to recruit (i.e. taking longer than 6 months) can be found the following occupational areas: receptionists, waiters, kitchen stewards, front office managers and cooks at all levels. What is important to emphasize is that most of this occupational demand is for lower level occupations and those at the higher skills level take longer to recruit, reflecting their scarcity.

A variety of factors influence the demand and supply of labour in Batticaloa, most significant of which are the behavior of young people looking for work (job seekers) and employers (hire of job seekers). Evidence from discussions with providers, employers and stakeholders working in Batticaloa found that young people are reluctant to be trained, or to work in the sector. This is a reflection of the low wages paid to young people and the time taken for occupational specific training. Currently, it can take between 6 and 12 months for a young person to be trained by a formal TVET institution to work in the sector and on entering the sector they are typically paid between 10,000 to 15,000 LKH. This must be seen against the cost associated with training for this period and the fact that a young person could earn Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 per month working as an unskilled worker in construction. At the same-time employers have been criticized for placing high demand on young people, expecting them to work long hours, performing multi-tasks and taking short-holidays. On top of poor working conditions

14

12

7

6

6

5

5

4

Waiters

Cleaning & housekeeping Supervisors

Cooks

Chefs

Bartenders

Cleaners & Helpers

Accounting Associate Professionals

Kitchen Helpers

Figure 2.7: Top 60% vacancies in tourism sub-sector -2017 (%)

6


many of the work contracts in the tourism and hospitality sector are temporary and only cover periods of peak demand. Together these factors help explain the current skill skills shortages facing the tourism sector in Batticaloa, as well as highlight what specific

occupational areas need to be expanded.

Source: Enterprise Survey, 2017

Skills deficits in qualitative terms were measured in terms of cognitive, non-cognitive and technical skills based on assessments given by the employers of the tourism sector in Batticaloa district. The assessments on cognitive skills15 covered 5 criteria while non-cognitive16 and technical17 skills included 9 and 4 criteria respectively.

15 Literacy skills (reading & writing), Numeracy (Ability to use numbers and solve problems), Appropriate level of education, Fluency in Tamil and Fluency in Sinhala. 16 Communication skills, Management skills, Customer service skills, Team working skills, Problem

solving skills, Planning and organization skills, Correctness/integrity, Ability to work independently

and Punctuality/reliability.

17 Technical skills, Computer literacy or IT knowledge, English Language and Work experience

17

16

46

9

36

38

0 10 20 30 40 50

BATTICALOA

AMPARA

TRINCOMALEE

Figure 2.8: Percentage of Respondents with Vacancy Sub-Sector

Guest House with Vacancy Hotel with Vacancy

7


The analysis overs skill deficits by type of occupation (e.g. high18, medium19 and low skill workers20) and by type of establishment (e.g. hotel, guest house etc.). Using these multiple criteria, the severity of skill gaps was measured, and the evidence reveals serious skill deficits among employees of high and middle level occupations in major sectors of tourism industry e.g. hotels, guesthouses, homestay and cafeterias.

The results indicate high level of skill deficits are high in technical (e.g. English language, work experience, technical skills, computer literacy etc.) and non-cognitive skills (e.g. communication skills, management skills, problem solving skills, customer service skills, etc.) among high-skilled workers (Figure 2.8). By type of establishment, skill deficits are severe in hotels, guest houses, home stay and restaurants sub-sectors particularly in terms of work experience and communication skills. Skill deficits in English language and customer skills are severe among managers in home-stay units relative to other types of establishments. Similarly, management and problem-solving skills are severe among high skilled workers in guest house and restaurant sub-sectors.

Source: Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017b

18 High skilled category includes senior managers, professionals and technicians and associates:

Managers, Resident Managers, Food & Beverage Managers, Managers Restaurant & Bar, Rooms

Division Manager, Front Office Manager, Stores Managers, Guest House Managers, Therapists,

Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs, Pastry Chef, Manager, Chief Kitchen Stewards, Executive House Keeper,

Head Waiters, Restaurant Supervisor, Tour Leaders/ Coordinators, Accounts officers, Administrators

and Guest Relation Officer.

19 Medium skilled category includes clerks and service workers: Bell Captain, Barman, Tour Guides, Wine Waiter, Bar supervisor, Stewards (Hotels, Restaurants etc.), Cooks, Bakers, Kitchen Stewards, Floor Supervisors, Fast food preparers, Guest House Keepers, Laundry Machine Operators, Receptionist, Telephone Operator, IT Assistant, 1st Commission, Diving Instructor, Divers, Animator/Entertainer, Booking Officer, Travel agent, Gardeners, Recreation Activity Officer, Coordinator and Book Keeper. 20 Low skilled category includes the occupations of craft workers, plant and machine operators and

assemblers, and elementary workers: Waiters, Room Attendants/Room Boys, Doorman/ Valet parker,

Cleaners, Laundrymen, Bell Boys, Pool Attendants, Helpers, Boat man and Maintenance workers.

94

92

87

79

76

74

72

68

Work experience

Communication skills

English Language

Management skills

Problem solving skills

Customer service skills

Technical skills

Computer literacy or IT knowledge

Figure. 2.9: Skill deficits among high skilled workers (%)

8


High proportion of medium-skilled workers lack technical (e.g. English language, work experience, technical skills, etc.) and non-cognitive skills (e.g. communication skills, punctuality, team work, customer service skills, etc.) (Figure 2.9). By type of establishment, skill deficits among medium-skilled workers employed in restaurants require skills development in team work, customer services and technical skills. The evidence also reveals deficits in communication skills among middle level workers across all types of organizations in tourism industry. High proportion of middle level workers employed in home stay units and restaurants also lack English language skills, sufficient work experience and punctuality/reliability.



64

61

55

47

44

44

41

Work experience


English Language

Punctuality/reliability

Team working skills


Technical skills

Figure 2.10: Skill deficits among medium skilled workers (%)

49

42

38

34

21

Punctuality/reliability


Team working skills

Work experience


Figure 2.11: Skill deficits among low skilled workers (%)

9


Skill deficits among low-skilled workers in tourism industry are evident particularly with respect to punctuality, team work and communication skills (Figure 2.10). By type of establishment, skill deficits among low-skilled workers are higher in guest houses and home stay units. As reported by the employers of the hotel sector lack of work experience is the most severe problem among low-skilled workers in Batticaloa district.

The multi-criteria-based skills gap analysis for Batticaloa district is in line with existing body of literature on skill gaps in Sri Lanka. As reported by Dunder et al. (2014), the prevalence of skills gaps in hospitality and tourism across Sri Lanka remains high compared to the overall economy. 21 This is very important in the context of tourism industry as the entire staff of tourism industry need to interact with customers form both domestic and foreign markets that use English as a common language of communication. The skills most often found lacking in the workforce were planning and organizational skills (55%), followed by customer handling skills (51%). At national level, the tourism sector overall shows that these skills are most likely needed in customer facing and management roles. The ILO (2015) study on skill gaps in four industry sectors including tourism sectors also identified English language skills as critical for development of tourism industry and highlighted as a matter of urgency.

Managers lack skills in customer service, leadership, event management, management, organizational and planning and knowledge in regulatory and compliance requirements. Tour Guides lack Specific Recreational Skills, Cultural and Heritage Skills, Foreign Language Skills. As reported by Dunder et al. (2014), the prevalence of skills gaps in hospitality and tourism across Sri Lanka remains high compared to the overall economy. The skills most often found lacking in the workforce were planning and organizational skills (55%), followed by customer handling skills (51%). At national level, the tourism sector overall shows that these skills are most likely needed in customer facing and management roles.

Of the employed workers at district level, Batticaloa records one of the lowest proportion of employees with some formal training e.g. only one percent as against 5 and 7 percent in Trincomalee and Ampara districts respectively.22

Asia Foundation (2017) summarized the constraining gaps in skills and capacities of tourism in the Eastern Province covering three major sub-sectors of the tourism industry: a) hospitality sector, b) tourism services and c) tourism travel sector. Skill deficits identified in the hospitality industry sector covered inadequate communication skills, customer orientation, ICT knowledge and about various service offerings in the hospitality industry. With respect to tourism services gaps in skills were found in four major areas: Poor interpersonal skills, insufficient knowledge of tourist places, inadequate communication skills and inadequate skills to manage crises. With respect to travel tourism sector it identified six major areas of skill deficits: Inadequate ability to handle customers with wide range of needs, Inadequate ability to handle complaints, Lack of adequate IATA qualified personnel, Lack of adequate presentation skills, Insufficient people management skills and Inadequate time management skills.

21 For example in Dunder et al. (2014) 80 percent of employers expect a higher-skilled worker to

know English and 40 percent expect that of less skilled workers. 22 QLF, Unpublished data.

10


2.6: Policy Directions for the Tourism sector: national and district level

There are several documents dealing with policy directions and action programmes for the development of tourism sector industries at national, provincial and district level. As stated in Chapter 1, national level documents include policy directives coming from the Department of National Planning, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs. Accordingly, the policy of the government is to transform Sri Lanka as the World’s most treasured island for tourism (NPD, 2016). It highlights the need for promoting nature, cultural, historical and adventure-based tourism with a special focus on the promotion of Eco-tourism. Similarly, the Tourism Strategic Plan (STP, 2017-2020) emphasizes the need for transforming tourism industry to make Sri Lanka competitive in global travel and tourism market. It also recognizes a highly skilled workforce as crucial to Sri Lanka becoming high-value destination (Chapter 6 of STP). High-value tourism is more labour intensive and provides significant jobs and skilled opportunities for men and women. The STP, (2017-2020) recognizes engaging the workforce and communities as a major contributor to a high-value visitor experience in Tourism industry. It consists of four major core strategies: a) develop actively engaged workforce, b) promote employment & career opportunities in tourism, c) prioritize lifelong training & development and d) engage local communities in tourism (TSP (2017-2020), p.18). The latest policy document at national level, Vision 2025, states that the tourism sector has not achieved its full potential and to exploit this vast potential, Sri Lanka needs a transformation in the tourism strategy to increase investments and employment. It further states that poor coordination between Government ministries; institutions and stakeholders have hampered the progress of the industry. The lack of emphasis on human capital development and tourism research has hindered development (Vision, 2025, pp.23-24). The aim of Vision 2025 is to establish Sri Lanka as high-value destination reflecting Sri Lanka’s natural and cultural heritage, while making the industry socially inclusive and environmentally responsible. With respect to SMEs, it states the following.

“We will establish a conducive institutional framework for SMEs in the tourism industry to flourish. We recognize the services by these SMEs, which account for over 90% of all tourist establishments. Appropriate training facilities will be made available to develop this sector with peripheral services.” (Vision 2025, p.24).

The Budget Speech, 2018 devoted 18 paras to address some of the key policy issues affecting growth and development of the tourism industry particularly in the MSME

11


sector. Some of the vital ones include rationalizing liquor licensing fee structure23 and capacity building24 and regulation of Tuk-Tuk wheelers (paras 141-143).

Policy directions at Provincial and district level

Besides national level documents, there are three major documents which spell out

policy directions for the development of tourism industry in Batticaloa district: a) Hon.

Chief Minister’s Policy Statement, b) The Medium-term Development Plan (MDP) of the

EP, 2017-2020, and c) Medium-term Agency Results Framework of the Eastern Province

Tourism Bureau (2017).25 The first, Hon. Chief Minister’s policy statement makes special

reference to both vocational education and tourism sector development in the EP.

Section 6: Vocational education

“In order to create employment opportunities among youths, both males and females,

we will give priority to vocational education and training. We propose to train 3,000

youths annually in vocations.”

Section 17: Tourism

“We will give an impetus to tourism by the establishment of a Tourism Promotion Board

through a provincial statute. We will take action to establish tourist hotels in places like

Arugam Bay, Kalladi, Passikudah, Vakarai, Alles Garden, Nilaveli, Kanniyai and

Kumburupitty.”

The second, MDP 2017-2020,26 presents medium term development programme for the Eastern Province.27 The skills development strategies for the tourism industry in EP are given under thrust area 1: Development of Infrastructure and Human Resources. Accordingly, Goal No. 1.4, trained skilled workforce, includes training of 250 unemployed youth in preliminary and professional level grades in tourism and hospitality industry in 2018. Training targets for unemployed youth in tourism industry in 2019 and 2020 are 250 and 200 respectively. The MDP (2017-2020) also includes six Flagship Projects including one project for Batticaloa district e.g. Establishment of a Hotel and Hospitality Training School at an estimated cost of Rs. 500 mns. 28 In addition, under special intervention areas for future development, MDP (2017-2020) has planned 23 For example, para 129 stated “ The liquor licensing fee structure will be rationalized. License issuance

mechanism will be revamped with a view to promoting tourism, especially in Guest houses, Boutique Hotels etc.

A tax file number will be one of the essential requirements when issuing these licenses.”

24 For example, Para 142 stated, “ The SLTDA and SLTPB will initiate a programme to introduce a “Tourist

Friendly “tuk tuk” where the “tuk tuk” drivers will be trained in collaboration with the hospitality industry, to be

tourist guides and register them with the Bureau. A special sticker issued by the SLTPB will be displayed on the

“tuk tuk”‘s once the drivers have successfully completed these courses which will be offered free of charge.” 25 In addition 26 The first MDP for EP covered 2012-2016 periods. 27 It covers five major sectors (e.g. (i) Food and Agriculture, (ii) Industrial and Business

Development, (iii) Human Development, (iv) Infrastructure Development and (v) Institutional

Development and Governance. 28 Two other Flagship Projects targeted at tourism sector include a) Establishment of an agro

Tourism Theme Park ( Rs. 250 Mns) in Uppaveli in Trincomalee and b) Establishment of Human

Resource Development Centre ( Rs. 150 Mns) in Trincomalee.

12


to promote entrepreneurial skills for widows and developing women entrepreneurs with DS specific target of 4 widows at a cost of Rs. 250,000/- per widow. The MDP defines vision and mission for overall development of the Eastern Province as follows:

Vision:

Prosperous province leading to sustainable development with happiness, harmony and

good governance.

Mission:

“Transform Eastern Province through rational resource management and good

governance to eradicate poverty ensuring socio-economic development and sharing the

development benefits in a fair and participatory manner to enhance the prosperity with

sustained peace for all.”

THE MDP (2017-2020) also spells out tourism sector specific development activities under Agency Results Framework (ARF) system. It provides agency specific development programmes for 8 agencies including the Tourism Bureau of the Eastern Province. The development strategy of the Tourism Bureau of the Eastern Province cover five thrust areas: a) Developing tourism related infrastructure, b) Development & dissemination of tourism information, c) Enhanced business opportunities, d) Tourism related skill development and e) Institutional capacity development & governance. The fourth thrust area deals with skills development and its main goal is to Developed skills to improve the capacity of organizations and human resources in tourism industry. As discussed above, there are many policy documents which explain policy support for skills development in tourism sector in Batticaloa district. Some of them even deal with strategies, targets and key performance indicators. However, these policy documents do not provide a comprehensive coverage of skills development in terms of type of occupations, type of skills, duration of programmes, type of business-subsectors, type of training providers, target beneficiaries, job matching, and demand creation for tourism sector jobs. Thus, it is explicit that skills development in the tourism industry in Batticaloa district requires complete transformation in targeting potential target beneficiaries, programme structuring, delivery mode, job matching, developing course modules and delivery modes, public-private partnerships in skills development and coordination of institutional support systems. This transformation process will be elaborated in detail in Section 3.

2.7: Institutional support system

Presence of an efficient institutional support system is a pre-condition in promoting growth through inclusive at national, provincial and district level. Appendix 4 provides a broad overview of the key institutional structures and stakeholders that directly and indirectly influence employment and skill developments in the tourism sector.

13


Accordingly, at the national level, the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs coordinates development policies among various sub-sectors of the economy. Beneath this coordinating structure are the line Ministries that formulate strategies and guide the direction of their respective sectors. Most significant line Ministries to skills development of the tourism sector are the Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training. Beneath the national organizations are provincial and district ones that will implement policy directives from the top and action programmes initiated at district level.

Tourism is a concurrent subject29 and therefore its development work at district level is

carried out by a complex network of institutions functioning under line ministries and

Provincial Councils and local government institutions and district level administrators.

The Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs is the national

entity in charge of the tourism sector and the following agencies operate under this

ministry to carry out functions specified under the Tourism Act No 38 of 2005.30

a) Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) b) Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) c) Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM) d) Sri Lanka Convention Bureau e) Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC)

In addition, The Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training (MSDVT)

functions as the national entity in charge of skills development and operates through an

island wide network of training institutions. It covers 17 different trades including

tourism. In addition, the Eastern Province Tourism Bureau is also engaged in skills

development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district.

Table 2.1 presents total training institutes that provide training related to the tourism value chain in Batticaloa District. The public-sector training providers jointly offer 37 training programmes representing both direct (11) and indirect (26) skills needed for tourism value chain. All these programmes are targeted at school leavers with GCE O/L qualifications. As shown in Table 2.1, private and NGO service providers take the lead in conducting training prgrammes directly relevant to the tourism sector while the government institutes play a lead role in providing training for support services (e.g. masons, electricians, maintenance workers etc.). Among the Private and NGO providers, the Miani Technical Institute provides the highest number of training programmes and graduate output (Table 2.2). The annual graduate output, of existing training programmes is around 190 and it is grossly inadequate to meet the market demand for labour in the tourism industry. The problem is even more severe due to high out- migration of trained workers in Batticaloa district. The inadequate supply of training facilities for tourism related skills development in Batticaloa district was also confirmed by the survey evidence of WUSC (2016). 29 As per the 9th schedule (13th amendment) of the constitution of Sri Lanka. 30 For more details se Asia Foundation (2017).

14


Table 2.1: Institutions providing training in Batticaloa District

Source of training No of programmes

Enrolment

Output

Public Directly relevant

Indirectly relevant

Directly relevant

Indirectly relevant

Directly relevant

Indirectly relevant

1 Ocean University 0 1 0 20 0 12

2 Technical Collage 0 6 0 53 0 47

3 VTC 0 11 0 219 0 290

4 NVIC 0 2 0 25 0 9

5 NITA 1 0 1 0 3 0

6 SLITHM 2 0 73 0 73 0

Sub-total public sector 3 20 74 317 76 358

Private and NGO 8 6 123 72 116 40

Total 11 26 197 389 192 389

Source: Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017e

Table 2.2 Tourism related training programmes offered by the Miani Technical Institute

Year Name of the

program Enrollment Output

% of female

students

2016

Steward 22 21 0%

Room Attendant 16 11 9%

Cook 24 22 50%

Food &

Beverage 27 27 0%

2017

Room Attendant 20 19 10.1%

Cook 20 20 5%

Receptionist 17 On OJT 47%

Source: Miani Technical Institute

As shown in Annex 2, training is predominantly focused upon skilled and semi-skilled

qualifications. The most consistent trend is the larger numbers trained for craft level

qualifications, as well as the numbers enrolled in NVQ levels 3 or 4 qualifications in

tourism and hospitality. The most recent development includes the enrolment of 87

learners at SLIATE to study for higher national diplomas in tourism and hospitality.

15


Consultations with the TVET providers revealed a number of constraints impacting on

the quality of skills, most significant of which include the following:

• Most TVET providers have career guidance materials to inform potential learners about their programs, but limited material exists about the tourism and hospitality sector. Without appropriate career materials young people are not informed about opportunities for this sector;

• A large number of TVET providers were reluctant to offer tourism and hospitality programs due to the fact that they were not popular amongst young people. According to managers at TVET providers young people preferred to study for an ICT qualification. Some providers are attempting to overcome this problem through raising the age level for learners.

• Parents are also reluctant to send their children to study tourism and hospitality due to the negative perceptions towards this sector. Similarly, the low pay of trainees in the sector meant that parents would rather have their children working in a sector that pays more money. Many TVET managers told us that young people could earn four to five time more working as a labourer in the constructor sector (compared to the tourism and hospitality sector).

• Visits to TVET providers found that many experience significant capacity constraints, especially around the lack of equipment to impart practical skills. Most providers did not have the capacity or knowledge to use innovative techniques for learning. Moreover, even for basic level skills programs learners have to spend between 6 and 12 months at a trainee. This is too long and acts as a further disincentive for young people attending such programs.

• Another significant constrain faced by providers is the issue of language. Most learners only speak Tamil and providers find it difficult to recruit trainers who are fluent in Tamil. At the same-time most of the formal employers prefer trainees who speak English. Most providers have started to improve English language skills of their trainees to overcome this constraint.

As discussed in Section 2.4, market demand for tourism sector occupations in Batticaloa is high for medium and low-skilled occupations. The current level of graduate output however, is grossly inadequate to meet the market demand. The estimated target student population for TVET courses in Batticaloa district is around 8,000 and about 62 percent of them are school drop outs at GCE AL (32%) and GCE OL (30%).31 The public-sector service providers are not in a position to fill up this skill gap due to several constraints. Hence, there is a strong need to promote Public-Private-Partnership as a strategy to transform skills development efforts of the tourism sector in Batticaloa district. In fact, some of the donors (e.g. ILO, WUSC etc.) have been working in skills development of tourism sector over the past four years and some are at the concluding stage. Their efforts to develop skills in tourism sector in Batticaloa district needs to be continued with more concentrated efforts in view of resurgence of the tourism sector in the district. In addition to increasing enrolment, two more interventions need to be promoted through public-private-partnerships in skills development: a) expanding the service mix and b) improving the quality of programmes in terms of cognitive, non- 31 This is assuming 50% of AL qualified candidates are enrolled in higher education sector courses by private and foreign universities and professional programmes (e.g. Charted Accountancy, CIMA, CIM, etc.).

16


cognitive and technical skills. Consultations with training providers in Batticaloa district revealed willingness to offer training programmes with joint participation of both public and NGO service providers.32

Besides training, career guidance work being carried out by Career Guidance Officers attached to the Technical Collage, National Youth Services Council and Human Resource Development Officers attached to the DS and Divisional Secretariats is strong source of support that could be used to promote skills development work in the district. Similarly, consultations with donors actively engaged in skills development Batticaloa district indicated the need for further interventions to support skills development in the tourism sector. It also revealed the need for continuing with Public Employment Service Centre, skill development of return migrants and recognize foreign work experience etc. initiated by the ILO with joint support from other donor organizations. There is also an opportunity for S4IG project to support some of the Action Programmes proposed in District Action Plan (2017-2021).

Source: School Census, 2016.

Another important target audience vital in promoting inclusive growth is the disabled persons and women. The evidence of Enterprise Survey revealed an overwhelming 95 percent of enterprises indicating that they were not interested in employing a person with disabilities. With respect to employing female employees however, the attitudes from enterprises are more positive, with 28 percent of employers indicating that they would happily employ more women. By sub-sectors, it was 16 and 12 percent by hotels and guest house sectors.

32 For example, SLITHM is willing to join Sarvodaya and NAITA is willing to arrange industrial

raining accreditation for tourism related courses conducted by other institutes.

2%

32%

30%

36%

Figure 2.12: Target Population for TVET Courses in Batticaloa District (%)

Below O/L Up to O/L Up to A/L With A/L

17


SECTION THREE

Challenges, Strategies and Action Plan for skills development

3.1: Introduction

This section presents the challenges, strategies and action plan for skills development in tourism and related sub-sectors in Batticaloa district. It begins with an explanation of the stage of skills development, challenges, opportunities, vision and mission for skills development in tourism industry of Batticaloa district. This is followed by strategies and action plans for the next 3 years: 2018-2020.

3.2: Stage of skills development in Batticaloa district

The tourism industry in Batticaloa district is in transition from “low-skills equilibrium” to a stage of “skills gaps and shortages” (see figure 3.1). The low-skills equilibrium is characterized by low level of enterprise development, weak education and training structure, inadequate infrastructure development and weak institutional and policy support for skills development. During the post-conflict period, there have been major investments in infrastructure development by public and private sector investors. For example, the 2edMid-term Development Plan (MDP, 2017-2020) identified several interventions under thrust areas, flagship projects and special interventions for tourism sector development of the Eastern Province.33 Similarly, the private sector investments have also lead to an increase in room capacity and SLTDA one-Stop-Point has approved 20 projects to improve room capacity by 1070 rooms at an estimated cost of US $ 99.48 Mns. As a result, there is a high demand for skilled workers in the tourism industry in Batticaloa district. In contrast, responses form the labour market however, has not been adequate to meet the demand for workers in tourism and related sectors both in quantitative and qualitative terms.

The demand drivers for tourism and related sectors include several factors representing market forces, socio-cultural factors, investments in infrastructure development and regulatory system (Figure 3.2). Of these factors, the market forces seem to be the key driver of skills development in tourism and related sectors. More specifically, increasing trend of customer demand both from foreign and domestic sources and competitive pressures from adjoining districts are strong driving forces for skilled workers in the tourism sector. Similarly, on-going infrastructure development work under the public investment programme and investments by the hoteliers in tourism sector in the district contributes towards high demand for tourism sector services and high demand for skilled workers.

The supply side however is confronted with several barriers in responding to market demand for skilled workers in the tourism industry. As shown in Figure 3.2, some of the major barriers to training include limited access to training services, lack of appropriate training to meet job specific skills, high levels of staff turnover, seasonality of work, dominance of MSMEs and perceptions towards tourism sector occupations.

33 The 1st MDP for the Eastern Province (2012-16) identified 6 special projects for infrastructure development of tourism sector in the Eastern Province.

18


Figure 3.1: Stage of Skills Development of Tourism in Batticaloa District

Skills gaps and shortages

High skills equilibrium

Low skills equilibrium

Skills surplus

3.3: Challenges and opportunities for skill development

Having identified the current stage of skills development we are in a position to move on to the next stage of analysis- challenges and opportunities for skills development in tourism sector in Batticaloa district. The analysis presented in Table 3.1 summarizes challenges facing Skills development in tourism industry in Batticaloa District considering both demand and supply side factors.

On the demand side, some of the key challenges are due to structural features of tourism industry e.g. dominance of MSMEs, fragmented character of the industry. Similarly, some of the policy measures such as inadequate public investment and absence of public-private-partnership in skills development are major challenges of skills development in tourism at district level. On the supply side, some of the key challenges stem from weak institutional support system and resource constraints. The SWOT analysis presented in Figure 3.2 further elaborates challenges and opportunities for skills development considering both internal and external factors.

Table 3.1 Challenges facing Skills development in tourism industry in Batticaloa District

Demand side Supply side

• Lack of HRM practices in tourism industry

• Absence of collective efforts to promote tourism by the private sector players

• Lack of Public Private Partnership

• Inadequate investments in skills development

• Narrow programme mix

• A dearth of qualified trainers

High Low

Low

High

Supply D

eman

d

19


• Dominance of micro and small-scale establishments (MSMEs)

• Low demand for employing disabled and female workers

• Failure to market Batticaloa as a tourist destination

• Low levels of skills of the employed in the tourism sector

• Low awareness on job prospects and career development opportunities in tourism sector

• Low payments to trainees during internship period

• Low preference towards tourism sector jobs by new entrants to the labour market

• Limited access to vulnerable groups

• Absence of local flexibility in delivery

• Inadequate resources

• Presence of multi-institutional structure and weak coordination

• Low enrolment and completion rates of TVET trainees due to poverty

Table 3.2 SWOT analysis on Skills development of tourism industry in Batticaloa district

Strengths Weaknesses

• High growth potential of the regional tourism market

• Flagship/Special Projects Initiated by the Eastern Province Tourism Bureau

• Donor and diaspora community support

• Strategic geographical location

• Unexploited tourism related assets e.g. Beach, National parks, Heritage Sites, Nature Reserves, Eco-tourism, Religious Places etc.

• Around 3000 school leavers joining the labour market on annual basis.

• Poor training facilities & narrow programme mix

• Weak value chain for local production

• Lack of coordination among investors involved in the tourism sector

• Stigma attached to women working in the hotel sector

• Poor tourism promotional & marketing strategies

• Limited tourist visiting areas

• Presence of big informal sector& poor-quality standards

• Absence of public-private partnership

Opportunities Threats

• High growth of the tourism

industry at national level

• Pro- private sector policy of the government

• Emphasis on region specific tourism promotion at national level

• Presence of skill gaps at industry

level

• Capacity limitations of public sector training providers

• High out-migration of labour in Batticaloa district

• Presence of complex multi-

institutional system of

development administration

20


• Potential for linkages with agriculture & fishery sectors to increase market prices and rise incomes of workers

• High public investments in

infrastructure development

• Regulations of the Department of

Archaeology, Wild Life

Conservation and Ministry of

Fisheries Development

• Inadequate supply of training opportunities

3.4: Vision for the skills development of Tourism Sector in Batticaloa District

The vision and mission for skills development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district can

be defined in line with vision and mission statements of Eastern Province tourism

authorities and district level administrative authorities. Following the Agency Results

Framework (ARF), the MDP2017-2020 also provides agency specific development

programmes for 8 agencies including the Tourism Bureau of the Eastern Province. It

defines the vision and mission for the tourism sector in the Eastern Province as follows:

Vision:

Eastern Province is preferred destination for leisure and pleasure.

Mission:

Providing tourism related infrastructure and services collaboratively with relevant

stake holders emphasizing the private sector participation to attract domestic and

international tourists seeking historical, cultural, scenic and religious admiration

whilst improving business opportunities for the community.

The vision and mission statements accepted by the district administrative authorities

in the Five-Year Development Plan (2017-2022) for Batticaloa District are given

below.34

Vision

To provide effective and efficient services to people by strengthening the district

administration.

Mission

Strengthening the divisional administration, get corporation of all sectors to

implement Government Policies, maximize the use of resources in proper

development process to provide maximum welfare to people.

34 Batticaloa Divisional Secretariat- 5 Year District Development Plan: 2017-2021.

21


In line with the vision and mission statements at province and district level and

consultations with employers, policy makers, administrators, training providers and

employees engaged in different occupations of the tourism trade we define the

vision for skills development in Batticaloa district as follows:

TO ELEVATE THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN BATTICALOA DISTRICT TOWARDS HIGH-SKILLED EQUILIBRIUM STAGE IN 2020

In the context of the SSAP we set out skills development mission as follows:

TO UPGRADE THE STATUS OF THE TOURISM SECTOR FROM THE CURRENT STAGE

OF SKILLS DEFICITS TO HIGH SKILLED EQUILIBRIUM THROUGH THE CREATION OF

HIGHER VALUE JOBS IN TOURISM VALUE CHAIN BY ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO

TRAINING, DEVELOPING EMPLOYABLITY SKILL, PROGRESSION PATHWAYS AND

INCLUSIVE GROWTH

3.5: Strategies and action plan for skills development

Two major policy documents deal with tourism sector development in Batticaloa district: a) Five Year Development Plan (2017-2021) and b) Midterm Development of the Eastern Province. Both of these plans recognize skills development as a major development goal of the tourism sector in Batticaloa district. The 5 Year Plan is an integrated vision oriented multi-sectoral district development plan and its Section 9 covers industry and SME sector in Batticaloa and output 1.4 and 1.5 deals with increased technical skills among the fisherman and increased risk management skills among the MSMES. The Section 10 of the 5 Year Plan presents strategic interventions for the development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district. Of the 5 development outcomes, increased employment in tourism sector is recognized as the first development outcome of the tourism sector development. Skills development strategies for tourism sector in the Eastern Province is also spelt out under thrust area 1, Development of Tourism Infrastructure and Human resources. Accordingly, Goal No. 1.4, trained skilled and workforce includes training of 250 unemployed youth in preliminary and professional level grades in tourism and hospitality industry in 2018.35 The MDP (2017-2020) also includes 3 Flagship Projects relating the tourism and hospitality industry including skills development.36 The Five-Year Plan of the Batticaloa district in particular states increased employment in tourism sector as one of the five outcomes of the tourism sector development.

35 The targets for 2019 & 2020 are 250 and 200 unemployed youth respectively. 36 These three Flagship projects include Establishment of an Agro Tourism Theme Park,

Establishment of a hotel and Hospitality Training School, and Establishment of Human Resource

development Centre

22


Moreover, out of 19 strategic goals of tourism sector development, the following deal

with skills development of the tourism sector in the district.37 a) Availability of trained guides

b) Increased skills & competencies in tourism/hotel management in the district

c) Increased access to skilled & competent labour

d) Increased foreign language competencies of youth, and

e) Increased knowledge on other languages among those engaged in hospitality trade

Another, five activities deal with creating awareness, improving access to information on tourism, communication facilities, access to products, entrepreneurship development, e-marketing and tourism value chain support services. In addition, consultations with employers in the tourism sector, policy makers, administrators, training service providers and other stakeholders have formed the basis for the development of the skills Strategy and Action Plan for tourism industry in Batticaloa district. As stated in Section 3.2, several policy documents at national, provincial and district level provide guidance to formulate strategies for skills development of the tourism sector at the district level. Accordingly, there has been overwhelming support for project intervention in skills development of tourism industry in Batticaloa district under three major transformational themes:

• Attraction of school leavers and retention of existing workers, Promoting inclusive growth and,

• Institutional, policy and business support. These transformational themes need to be converted to strategies and action programmes to be implemented both in the short and medium-term. The first, attraction of school leavers and retention of existing workers is important in Batticaloa district as it records negative migration and high level of skills shortages in tourism and related sub-sectors. Thus demand for tourism sector occupations needs to be created through increased awareness, attractive remuneration, and career development opportunities. Many low-skilled jobs in tourism sector have seen a low level of interest in certain occupations which can be changed through concerted careers advice at school level, and a better marketing of career prospects and rewards available in the tourism and related sub-sectors.

At the same time, it is necessary that other disadvantaged groups are effectively integrated into the tourism sector labour market. This may include unskilled females, war-combatants and disabled persons, who in some cases continue to have poor labour market outcomes. It is important to note disadvantaged groups may take longer to be trained and integrated to meet tourism sector skills needs but bringing them into the skills development system will be vital in order to avoid the development of a dual regional economy involving the “skills rich” and the “skills poor”.

37 This includes availability of trained guides, increased skills & competencies in tourism/hotel

management in the district, increased access to skilled & competent labour, increased foreign

language competencies of youth, and increased knowledge on other languages among those engaged

in hospitality trade.

23


Similarly, if policy makers focus only on skills development of the unemployed, and do not work with employers to address skills levels within the workforce itself, they may miss the problems of skill deficits and fail to work towards more long-term goal of reaching high skilled-equilibrium. As reported in Rapid assessment, only 8 percent of the employed in the tourism industry have received some form of formal training. This was confirmed by respondents particularly employed in guest houses and home stay units. Thus, it is essential that policy makers ensure up skilling of existing workforce in different sub-sectors of tourism industry. Finally, strengthening institutional and business support systems are equally important in implementing skills development programmes at district level. The transformation framework employed to develop the SSAP for Batticaloa district is shown in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.2: Transformation Framework for skills development in Batticaloa district

Figure 3.3: Balancing key themes of skills strategy in Batticaloa district

Attraction of school leavers and retention of

existing staff

• Demand Creation

• Human Capital Development

• Promote Public-Private-Partnership

Promoting inclusive growth

• Empowerment of vulnerable groups

• Promote value chain benefits to the local community

• Sustainable development

Strengthening institutional and

business support systems

• Social marketing

• Business development

• Strengthen institutional support

As shown in Figure 3.4, balancing of core strategies listed under major themes is important in meeting expected outcomes of the strategic action programme for skills development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district. Several of these activities need to be initiated simultaneously. This means at the initial stage of project implementation there has to be a ‘big push’ in skills development efforts of the tourism industry in

Key

transformational

themes

03

Core

Strategies

09

Key

Interventions

18

Action

Programmes

25

24


Batticaloa district. In order to speed up skills transformation process of tourism sector in Batticaloa district at least few activities relating to core strategies need to be initiated by the end of 2ed quarter 2018. Thus, all stakeholders need to take a collective and inclusive approach in implementing the strategies and action programmes identified in Table.3.2 and Table 3.3 respectively.

The SSAP addresses both market and institutional failures (Table 3.3 and 3.4). The efforts towards demand creation and human capital development should lead to significant improvements in skills development of the tourism industry. For example, less diversified nature of tourism industry and absence of value chain benefits of tourism to local community retards inclusive local economic development. Action programmes on business development, sustainable development and social marketing should improve the investment climate for tourism industry in Batticaloa district. The interventions on female participation and empowerment of persons with disability make the entire action plan inclusive and well balanced. Similarly, the action programmes targeted at strengthening of institutional support system should improve the efficiency of service delivery and inter-institutional coordination of development work at district level. At present, District Secretariat and Divisional Secretariats carry out development administration without a proper linkage to the provincial council system (MDP, p.15).

Table 3.3: Core demand and supply strategies and interventions for

implementation

Thematic

Transformation

areas

Strategies Key interventions

Attraction of

school leavers and

retention of

existing staff

Demand

generation

• Improve water and sanitation facilities at major locations of tourist attraction

• Conduct tourism awareness programs on environmental protection and preservation of places of historical value

Human capital

development

• Up-skilling and reskilling

• Tour Guide Accreditation

Expand the

programme mix

• Introduce new courses leading to direct employment of tourism sector

• Introduce new courses leading to indirect employment of tourism sector

Promotion of

inclusive growth

Empowerment of

vulnerable

groups e.g.

• Increase access to training for persons with disability

• Creating awareness

• Career guidance

• An incentivised / specialised recruitment and placement service

25


females and

PWDs

Sustainable

development

• Educate Hotel/Guest House/ Home Stay/ Restaurant owners on Waste Management technologies

• Promote Eco-tourism Promote value

chain benefits to

the local

community

• Promote community tourism

• Promote Lagoon tourism

Strengthening

institutional and

business support

systems

Social marketing • Improve water and sanitation facilities at major locations of tourist attraction

• Conduct tourism awareness programs on environmental protection and preservation of places of historical value

Business

development

• Promote economic activities complementary to tourism

• Promote new business (Incubation

• Image building

Strengthening

institutional

support

• Strengthen institutional structures

• Capacity building of training providers Raise the standards of tourism

sector related services

1


Table 3.4: Tourism Sector Skill Development Action Plan for Batticaloa District: 2018-2020

S/N Activity Description Target Group Duration Expected Outcome/ Results Responsible Agency

01 Develop and Implement the Work Place base basic Skills Development Programme

Existing Workforce in Hospitality Sector New entrants to the Sector

2018-2020 Produce a demand driven flexible training package Train the workplace trainers Participants enter into skills approach

Training and Recruitment Academy (TRAc)- Developing Learning material Rala Creation: Developing Video FCCISL: National level implementation Partner Batticaloa District Chamber of Commerce: District Implementation partner with S4IG

02 Implement the Piolet programme of Guest House Improvement Project

Existing Workforce in the selected 12 Guest House

2018-2020 Improve the standard of selected Guest Houses Increase the Profit Employment creation through expanding business

Nucleus Foundation, S4IG

03 Improving Beauty Therapy Services in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

Existing saloon Owners, Managers, Staff of Saloon

2018-2020 Improve the standard of selected Saloons Link with Hospitality sector

Sarvodaya Foundation, S4IG

2


04 Conducting the Social Marketing Campaign

Men & Women, Disadvantage groups, unemployed people, General Public

2018-2019 Create a positive image of Tourism sector

Emotional Intelligence, S4IG

05 Developing and Implementing Career Guidance and Counselling Resource Kit for tourism and hospitality Industry

Career Guidance Officers, Men & Women, Disadvantage groups, School leavers, Unemployed youth

2018-2020 Develop an industry validated Occupational Fact Sheet and Career Guidance & counselling Resource Kit Train the existing career Guidance officers in the District

Skills International, Local Service Provider, S4IG

06 Vocational English for Tourism and Hospitality

Participants from Hospitality and Tourism Related Training courses

2018-2019 Develop the Occupational English Language Skills of training participants

Headway Institute, S4IG

07 Upskilling the skills of middle level existing workforce through Mobile Training Programme

Middle level staff in tourism sector

2018-2020 Create a mobile training unit with all the facilities Upskill the existing workforce

NAITA, S4IG

08 Conducting the Master Chef Programme

Interested trainees in the area

2018-2020 Promote the high skills entrants

TRAc, Jetwin, S4IG

09 Recruitment, Employment and Careers in Tourism- (REACT) (Number of identified middle level skills development programs will come under this)

New trainees, Unemployed youth, Disadvantage youths

2018-2020 Train the middle level new entrants Develop a successful recruitment, training and Employment Model

Service Provider, S4IG

3


10 Strengthening Capacity Building of District Officers and facilitate the District Tourism Sector district job fair and job matching system

Skills Development Officers, Human Resource Development Officers, Career Guidance Officers, Public Employment Service Center Officers in the Batticaloa District

2018 Empower the officers engage into the Skills Development activities in the Tourism Sector Strengthen their capacity to collect ground level labour market Data

S4IG

11 Designing and Conducting High skilled skills development programme in Tourism Sector

Prospective entrants to the high-skilled occupations in tourism sector

2018-2020 Produce 20 diploma holders in tourism management

Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Service Provider, S4IG

12 Promote the lagoon-based tourism skills development

Unemployed youth, Interested parties

2018-2019 Develop the lagoon-based tourism skills development Curriculum

Ocean University, Service Provider, S4IG

13 Develop opportunities for PWD

to engage in tourism sector

Persons with Disability people including women & rehabilitators

2019 Facilitation of PWDs into training and the tourism and hospitality sector


14 Develop opportunities for

women

• Investigate provision of a scholarship programme

• Promote migrant return women in the tourism sector through skills

Women including returning migrants, single headed household women, war widows, women seeking employment

2018-2020 Facilitate women participation into training and employment throughout the Tourism sector value chain


4


recognition, training and placement

Promote industry opportunities to single headed household women, war widows for training and employment in tourism sector

15 Increase graduate output of

tourism related course

programmes

• Use existing Miani progs

• Lagoon Safari & Lagoon Cruise

• Marine & Terrestrial eco-tourism

• Religious and cultural

• Community tourism

• Irrigation system and special ceremony related event

• Health Tourism

• Eco-adventure tourism

• Recreational tours

• Handicraft

• Parks and wildlife activities

Performing and creative arts

New entrants to the market 2019-2020 Improve quality of existing

programmes and introduce

New Programmes

Miani, S4IG, Service Providers & Small Enterprises Development Division of the DS

5


16 Provide residential training on

selected trades in tourism

(Piolet Program)

Interested youth selected from remote areas in Batticaloa District

2018-2020 Provide employment for the unemployed youth in remote areas

VTA Hotel School & S4IG

17 Develop the site Tour Guide Programme

Identified participants 2018-2019 Train 10 site tour guides in Batticaloa District

SLITHM, Service Provider, S4IG

18 Prepare an Institutional Development Strategy to Support the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in the Batticaloa District

Selected TVET Training Providers

2018 Institutional Capacity Building Strategy with identified needs

International Consultant, S4IG

1


SECTION FOUR

Implementation and progress monitoring

4.1: Introduction

Most of sub-sector specific development activities in Batticaloa district take place under the direct supervision of the District Secretariat and it receives around Rs. 3400 Mns38 per annum from four main sources: a) Presidential Secretariat, b) Prime Minister Office, c) 23-line ministries and d) 16 departments per annum.39 The amount received from the Ministry of Tourism Development & Christian Development Affairs for tourism development in 2016 was Rs. 70.4 Mns. The Consolidated District Annual Implementation Programme of Batticaloa district in 2017 was Rs. 7506.48 Mns and 51 percent of funds were from the line ministries. The rest is shared by NGO/INGOs (19%), Eastern Provincial Council (13%), Special Projects (19%) and EU-SSD (6%) projects. In order to transform skills development of tourism sector in Batticaloa district, the SSAP

has developed with a clear vision of transforming the tourism sector towards high skills

equilibrium stage. For this purpose, nine core strategies have been developed under

three major transformational themes: a) Attraction of school leavers and retention of

existing workers, b) Integrating vulnerable groups and c) Institutional and business

support. This was further expanded to 18 interventions and 50 action programmes. Each

of the actions is assigned a timeframe for implementation and a lead agency responsible

for delivery of tasks.

The district of Batticaloa is served by a dense institutional setting represented by central, provincial and district level administration, BDS providers, banks, economic support organizations and other development organizations that have a stake in the district economy. Although the institutional network appears to be rather complex, it provides promising perspectives for dialogue and initiate joint work at district level. With respect to the tourism sector in particular, there is clear evidence of growing awareness on tourism sector development amongst policy makers, administrators, political authorities and the donor community.

4.2: Implementation and progress monitoring

At district level, the Divisional Secretariat (DS) coordinates activities between various government organizations and different levels of administration and oversees decentralized budget (DCB) projects. The DS functions with decentralized power from the center within the province directly under the central government. The administrative network of Batticaloa DS includes 14 Divisional Secretariats and 345

38 About 27% of this amount is for recurrent expenditure and the balance is for capital expenditure. 39 In 2015 this amount was Rs. 3737 Mns with contributions from Line ministries (68%), special

projects (21%) and EPC (11%).

2


Grama Niladhari divisions and operates without a proper linkage to the provincial council system (MDP, 2017-2020, p. 15).

The skills development approach of SSDP is multi-institutional and inclusive. There would be two types of funding:

a) Government-led - which focuses on areas of economic and social return to education and training, equity and poverty and

b) Joint action - which focuses on delivering flexible and market responsive solutions to skills needs, where government resources add value to the investment being made by employers, NGOs and development partners.

It is expected that the implementation of the proposed action plan would lead to an

increase in employment both direct and indirect terms. The quality of employment

would also be improved in terms of cognitive, non-cognitive and soft skills. As a result,

the tourism industry in Batticaloa district would be more competitive and generate more

socio-economic benefits to wide cross section of individuals in the district. In the long-

run, it would lead to reductions in unemployment, inequity and poverty. This is the final

aim of inclusive growth.

The SSAP sets out key roles for district level skills development partnerships. It presents

a real opportunity for the district to develop collective responses to its skills and

employment challenges, through embracing strong stakeholder partnership. Some of

the donors have already made firm commitments towards skill development efforts at

district level.

The SSAP focuses on providing an integrated and accessible employment and skills development opportunities for a cross-section of target beneficiaries in the district. It shifts the emphasis from standard government-led skills investment to one that is led and co-invested by employers, NGOs and development partners. The government will be taking collective responsibility for investment in skills development and the district level providers of education and training will be operating in this new climate. By working together, the district administration has the capacity to improve capabilities and aspirations of young people, employers, employees and vulnerable groups. This presents a real opportunity for the district to develop collective responses to its skills and employment challenges, through embracing strong stakeholder partnership. The SSAP is a mechanism by which inclusive growth and sustainable jobs will be

supported and monitored in the district both in the short and medium term. Feeding

into these programmes are the key functions of policy makers, administrators and other

stakeholders of the district. The implementation of proposed action programmes

requires strong partnerships with private sector organizations, non-government

organizations and the donor community. The district level administration however, has

little experience in this respect, particularly in the area of skills development. Similarly,

3


the non-government sector service providers also require capacity building support

particularly in integration of vulnerable groups in to the main-stream work force.

4.3: District Action Committee (DAC) for the SSAP

However, merely having a Skills Strategic Action Plan (SSAP) is not going to help achieve the planned skills development targets of the district. It requires a well-coordinated effort by all stakeholder groups particularly in the areas of advice, guidance, and leadership and resource inputs. Thus, we propose to set up a Coordinating Committee as a mechanism to implement the action programmes listed for the next three years- 2018-2020. The GA, Batticaloa district should be the Chair Person of the DCC and he/she should decide the size and representation of different stakeholder groups. The Coordinating Secretary of the Committee should be the S4IG District Coordinator in Batticaloa and she will be assisted by the Social Inclusion Officer and District Skills Officer of the S4IG project in Batticaloa.

The functions of the DCC are spelt out below:

a) Prioritization of action programmes listed in SSAP b) Coordination of resources for skills development from different sources c) Progress monitoring of Action Programmes at regular intervals d) Suggest necessary changes/ amendments to the Action programme in response

to changes in the tourism industry and changes in policy directives and administrative procedures at district, provincial and national level and

e) Ensure continuity of skills development work of tourism sub-sector through integration of core activities of the SSAP to budget items of line ministries.

4


References: 1. Asia Foundation, 2017 Report of the Political Economy Analysis for the Skills for

Inclusive Growth (S4IG) Programme, Colombo. 2. Butler, R.W. 1980. The Concept of Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for

Management of Resources, Canadian Geographer, XXIV, 1: 5-12. 3. Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2016. Annual Report 2016. Central Bank of Sri Lanka,

Colombo. 4. CEPA, 2017.Tracer Study on Technical and Vocational Education Graduates’

Employment in Sri Lanka. Unpublished Report submitted to the ADB, Ministry of Skills Development and TVEC. Colombo.

5. Department of Census and Statistics, 2017. Labour Demand Survey, 2017. Colombo. 6. Department of Census and Statistics, Quarterly Labour Force Survey – Various

Issues. 7. Department of Archeology, 2017. Proposals to Promote Tourism in Batticaloa,

Batticaloa. 8. District Secretariat, Batticaloa. 2017a. Annual Performance and Accounts Report

2016. Batticaloa. 9. District Secretariat, Batticaloa. 2017b. Resource Profile, Batticaloa 2017, District

Planning Division, Batticaloa. 10. District Secretariat. 2017c. Consolidated District Annual Implementation

Programme, Batticaloa District, District Planning Division, Batticaloa. 11. District Secretariat, Batticaloa. 2017d. Performance Report 2016. Batticaloa. 12. District Secretariat. 2017e. Resource Profile, 2017, District Planning Division,

Batticaloa. 13. Dunder, H., Milliot B., Roboud, M., Shojo, M., Athurupne, A., Goyal, S. and Rajah, D.

2017. Sri Lanka Education Sector Assessment, World Bank, Washington D.C. 14. Dunder, H., B. Millot, Y. Savchenko, H. Aturupane, T. Pismire. 2014. Building the Skills

for Economic Growth and Competitiveness in Sri Lanka, DC: World Bank Group, Washington, D.C.

15. ILO, 2015. Skill Gaps in Selected For Industry Sectors: A Literature and Data Review, Colombo. Available at www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro.../---ilo.../wcms_359346.pdf

16. Lazarus, N.A, 2017. A Map of Development Agencies and NGOs supporting the Tourism Value Chain in 04 districts in Sri Lanka. (Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonaruwa).

17. Ministry of Finance, 2017. Budget Speech – 2018, Colombo.

18. Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, 2017. Tourism Strategic Plan 2017-2020, Colombo.

19. Ministry of Home Affairs District Secretariat –Annual Performance Report & Accounts - 2016.

20. National Planning Department (NPD), 2016. Public Investment Program, 2017-2020, Ministry of Economic Policies and National Affairs, Colombo.

21. Office of the Prime Minister, 2017. Vision 2025, A Country Enriched. Colombo. 22. Provincial Planning Secretariat, 2017. Medium Term Development Plan, Eastern

Province, 2017-2020, Trincomalee. 23. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017a. Rapid Assessment, Kent Town SA, 5067. 24. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017b. Enterprise Survey, Kent Town SA, 5067. 25. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd., 2017c. Disability Inclusion Strategy. Kent Town SA, 5067.

5


26. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017d, Gender Inclusive Strategy, Kent Town SA, 5067.

27. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017e, Map of Training Providers for the Tourism Supply Chain, Kent Town SA, 5067.

28. Scope Global Pvt. Ltd. 2017e, Map of Training Providers for the Tourism Supply Chain, Kent Town SA, 5067.

29. S4IG, 2017a. Eastern Province Strategic Action Plan, 2018-2020.(Tentative draft).

30. WUSC, 2016.Youth Employment and Vocational Survey, WUSC, Colombo.

6


Annex 1: Socio-Economic Profile of the Eastern Province

Criteria Year Unit Batticaloa Eastern Province

Sri Lanka

GDP 2015 % 2.2 6 100

Employment 2016 % 2.1 6.1 100

Mean Household Income/per capita/month 2016 Rs

10935 11259 16377

Mean Per capita Income/month 2016 Rs 11259 16377

Mean Household Expenditure/month 2016 Rs 38407 54999

Economically active population- Male 2016 % 70.5 73.4 63.8

Economically active population- Female 2016 %

29.5 26.6 36.2

% of employment in Accommodation & Food Service 2016 %

2.7 7.8 2.5

% Employed in Agriculture 2016 % 24.8 26.1 27.1



Unemployment 2016 % 5.2 5.5 4.4

Underemployment 2016 % 1.7 2 2.4

Youth unemployment 2016 % 20.1 21.6

Youth unemployment as % of total unemployment 2016 %

50.9 55.9

% of paid employees 2016 % 65.0 60.3 57.8

% of employers 2016 % 1.3 1.1 2.7

% of own account workers 2016 % 31.4 35.2 31.6

% of contributing family workers 2016 % 2.3 3.4 7.8

Poverty – HCI 2016 % 11.3 7.3 4.1

Poverty- Gap Index 2016 % 1.8 1.2 0.6

Size of the informal economy 2016 % 59.6 59.3 60.2

Computer literacy 2016 % 17.0 14.8 27.6

% employed in Accommodation sector 2016 % 4.19* 1.5 100

% employed in Food & Beverages sector 2016 %

9.5 100

*Covers both Accommodation and food services sub-sectors

Sources: Department of Census and Statistics, Central Bank of Sri Lanka

1


Annex 2: An Overview of TVET Training Providers in Batticaloa -Delivering Tourism and Hospitality related Programms

Name of the Institute Courses Conducted Level Enrolment

2015 2016 2017

Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

SLITHM-Pasikudah House Keeping Craft Level 30 0 30 37 0 37 26 11 37

Restaurant & Bar Craft Level 20 0 20 36 0 36 41 0 41

Ocen University Diving NVQ-4 10 0 10 10 0 10 0 0 0

Swimming Craft Level 12 0 12 20 0 20 0 0 0

NAITA Establishment base training RPL- Craft level 12 0 12 20 0 20 0 0 0

Room Attendant RPL-NVQ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3

Waiter RPL-NVQ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2

Cook RPL-NVQ 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1

National Vocational Training Institute

National Certificate in Beautician including Hair Style

NVQ-4 0 0 0 33 0 33 37 0 37

Vocational Training Center- Kaluwanchikudy

Bakery Course NVQ-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sri Lanka Institute of Advance Technological Education

Tourism & Hospitality Management

Higher National Diploma

0 0 0 0 0 0 48 39 87

Miani Technical Institute Room Attendant NVQ-3 8 0 8 15 1 16 18 2 20

Steward NVQ-3 0 0 0 22 0 22 0 0 0

Front Officer/ Receptionist NVQ-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 8 17

Food & Beverage NVQ-4 30 0 30 35 2 37 0 0 0

Cook NVQ-4 22 0 22 12 12 24 19 1 20

Total 144 0 144 240 15 255 204 61 265

TRINCOMALEE

BATTICALOA

AMPARA

POLONNARUWA

Skills for Inclusive Growth

PROJECT OFFICE :

No# 05, Rosairo Lane, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.

+94 65 222 9296 inclusivegrowth.com.lk

Skillsforinclusivegrowth Skills for inclusive growth

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