1. New Endeavour in Sri Lanka for Skill 2020
The Sector Skills Development Programme (SSDP) is a new ongoing endeavor in the
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector with the loan assistant of
development partners particularly Asian Development Bank and World Bank that are funding
nearly USD 310 Mn. SSDP is being implemented by the Ministry of Skills Development and
Vocational Training along with its institutions for a period of seven years commencing from
2014 onwards. The specialty of this programme is result based funding against the
disbursement linked indicators which are predetermined by the lenders.
The overarching outcome of SSDP is implant an efficient skills education system in the
country by 2020 by achieving five specific objectives such as improving quality, access,
relevance, supportive policies & structure and Social marketing for skills training.
The overall outcome based target of SSDD is to increasing the student enrollment up to
250,000 while accrediting 80% of training courses and graduate employment of 70% in the
TVET sector by 2020. For that University Colleges, Employment Linked Training
Programme, Industry Sector Skills Councils and TVET Reforms and Policy
Formulation are a few initiatives commissioned under SSDP.
University Colleges:
This is a new avenue for increasing the access in the TVET sector by enrolling students
for supplying middle level technicians with NVQ 5 & 6 for meeting the increased demand for
them in the labour market. Accordingly, the University Colleges have evolved as a new
system under the provision of University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) in clause
5(e) of its Act No. 31 of 2008. Subsequently, 25 university colleges, including 5 of them in
Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, have been planned to establish around the country.
Now five such state owned colleges in Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Kuliyapitiya, Matara and
Ratmalana are in operation with total student enrollment of nearly 600 students and other
three similar colleges are in place in PPP mode in Colombo and Baticola districts.
Employed Linked Training Programme
Employment Linked Training Programme (ELTP) is another new initiative with the aim of
increasing the access and relevance in TVET sector where training will be purchased
from private training providers in skills shortages areas with the guarantee of job placement
after the training. So, training is focusing more demand driven rather than supply driven in
the TVET sector. The ultimate objective of ELTP is to increasing skills supply while
empowering the private sector training providers to continue their business. So, this training
purchasing model will be a catalyst for motivating themto work in the process of producing
skilled people in the sense of building Public Private Partnership (PPP).

2. Industry Sector Skills Councils:
Establishment of Industry Sector Skills Councils (ISSCs) is one of the many initiatives for PPP
in the TVET sector where each industry representatives will jointly form a collective voice for
the improvement of increasing the quality in TVET sector. At beginning, SSDP supports
to establish four ISSCs in Construction, Hotel & Tourism, ICT and Engineering Services &
Manufacturing sectors on a pilot basis.These council will function with the coordination of
National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) under the purview of the
MSDVT.
The ultimate objectives of ISSCs are to identify and provide measures to reduce skill gaps
while improving the productivity through the enhancement of industry-relevant
competencies of workforce and to address the skills mismatch between the supply and the
demand in labour market. Further, it will represent the interests of industry on skills
development and guide all aspects of TVET such as determine skills requirements by
reflecting the needs of labour market and economy of the country, develop competency
standards, facilitate apprenticeship and OJT and promote NVQ among employees and youth
in the country.
TVET Reforms and Policy Formulation:
With the aim of restructuring the TVET sector, SSDP supports to revisit and revise the
existing system and procedures, especially the National Vocational (NVQ) Framework and
related aspects. The objective of reforms is to streamline the skills training and supply in line
with industrial requirements and the needs of the economy where quality skills workforce is
needed as a foremost input. Accordingly, it is expected to increasing the relevance of
TVET provision as a demand driven by strengthens the existing policies and procedures.
Subsequently, NVQ operational manual was revised and incorporated a simplified Quality
Management System to ease the auditing process of quality training delivering in the TVET
sector. Setting National Competency Standards is also under revision by introducing a
packaging system of consisting required competencies to meet the jobs categorized in a
particular level of occupation or trade rather than compacting competencies in accordance
with a level of qualification. So, this will ease to meet the relevancy of industrial requirement
and eliminate the skills mismatches between trained people and available job opportunities
in the domestic and foreign labour markets.
In conclusion, SSDP is a new means for strengthen the TVET sector to lead the country in
building skills needed by 2020 for economic prospective and social wellbeing as a whole.
P. Sivananthan, B.Sc (UoJ), PGDE (NIE), MPM (UQ, Aus.), MDS (UoC), MAIPM, SLPS 15 July, 2015