• Do we have the Human Resources to capitalise on the Port City opportunity?

Does Sri Lanka have the top tier professionals with the level of expertise needed to take up the high level jobs that are expected to be created in the Colombo Port City? Do we have the human resources to capitalise on the vast economic opportunities that are expected? Do we have people of the calibre whom the expected multinationals that would inhabit Port City require? Do we even have sufficient numbers of qualified, skilled and experienced middle management personnel who could compete with the expatriates who would flock to take advantage of the jobs that would be on offer. The answer is a resounding ‘No!’. We knew a decade ago that the Port City would become a reality - 269 hectares (660 acres) of South Asia’s new wonderland hub. Land reclamation was completed in 2018, giving us another warning, that we need to get our people ready. But the sad fact is that we never prepared our country’s human resources as we should have. But it’s still not too late. The effect of the Brain Drain Where are our best lawyers, doctors, engineers and scientists? For decades, we drove out our best and brightest. Unable to find suitable paying jobs, unable to see a future for their motherland, and despairing of the corruption and political instability that has plagued our Emerald Isle since Independence, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan professionals left forever.  It was just the top tier professionals. Our electricians, masons, plumbers, heavy vehicle operators, bakers, hoteliers, chefs and so many others left for greener pastures. They are to be found in a hundred countries around the globe, from the English speaking states such as the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, to the Middle East, Europe and even Eastern Europe, Japan and South Korea.  Not a single government since Independence has taken any concrete steps to bring back our overseas brethren, except to make plaintive pleas for them to return, without providing any real incentives.  In fact, successive governments were quite happy to keep our people out there, and add many more thousands through state sponsored schemes, all in the name of obtaining more foreign exchange through our people sending money back to their relatives. Many of those who were trained by government institutes then used their certificates to search for jobs overseas.  These shortsighted policies are now going to haunt us, big time, as we are likely to struggle to find Sri Lankans capable of staffing the Port City. Fig. 1 gives an insight into our brain drain problem.    Our competition  The Port City, by its sheer size and scope, will attract tens of thousands of people who would work there. This means that Sri Lankans will be competing with an enormous number of expatriates for most of those jobs. While a certain number of jobs would be reserved for Sri Lankans if the GoSL were to insist on it (which is unlikely), there is no guarantee of these jobs being at the senior levels with high salaries.  Thus, we can easily envisage that Sri Lankans will have to compete with Indians, Singaporeans, Malaysians and Europeans. Given the low ranking of Sri Lanka’s academic institutions, those with Sri Lankan degrees will be at a distinct disadvantage versus those with qualifications from universities in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia and of course the US, UK and Europe.    Sri Lankans have a branding problem Chinese have a reputation for being hard working; Indians are smart; Nigerians are unfortunately looked upon with suspicion. What is the reputation of Sri Lankans? Foreigners who employ Sri Lankans can give the best answer to this.  The reference to people as “human resources” might be a bit strange. All the people who work for or contribute to an organisation, in one way or another. These persons form a workforce of a corporation. They may, for example, be regular employees, but also contractors. With a growing giant economy in particular, increasing numbers of people are starting to contractually work for an organisation without a typical employment contract.  Detailed studies have been carried out by global organisations specialising in human resources, to gauge the competitiveness of each country and also its human resources. Sri Lanka ranks very low in terms of most aspects of human resources.    Better late than never  Of course there’s still a lot of time left for Sri Lanka to improve its human resource standards. The Port City will continue to grow for perhaps a couple of decades, so there’s plenty of time to set in place a massive programme that would produce thousands of qualified people. But it needs to start now.    Types of industries and professionals  Anything and everything. A commercial centre of the size of Colombo Port City can be expected to attract a diverse set of industries. They would include Banking, Travel and Hospitality (hotels, restaurants, airlines, travel agencies), Shipping, Construction, Law Firms, Accounting Firms, Stock Brokers, Educational Institutes, Hospitals, Media, Insurance, and Entertainment. These will require all different types of professionals.    Revamp our universities  If Sri Lankans with qualifications from Sri Lankan universities and private institutes are to compete, then it would greatly help if the GoSL embarked on a complete revamp of the tertiary educational sector in order to bring the main universities into the top 200 in the world. Universities such as Colombo and Peradeniya need to lead the way here.    Back to the basics  Human capital theory presents human education (HE) for governments and their people as a public and private investment decision. Investing in educational activities leads to economic growth by increasing productivity, social stability and a healthier lifestyle, as a case for public investment. On the contrary, investing in education, like private investment choices, leads to higher lifetime incomes for individuals with more school years, greater access to paid jobs, less time spent in the labour market, and faster transitions to better career opportunities. Evidence does not necessarily support these assumptions in the context of modern HE markets. Unbalances and inconsistencies relating to human education investment returns exist. Identifies the gender, grades, and subjects studied and levels of skills achieved amongst other areas, like imbalances and contradictions. Moreover, the labour market does not always act fairly. However, there is some evidence that higher-quality people and those who spent more years in college tend to earn more throughout life. Governments and lawmakers also should give attention to human capital theories, which gave new attention to the ongoing need to update and re-train employees and to the extent in which university systems, organisations and staff were indeed ready for satisfying the expected demand from employers and professionals.    Matching skills  We describe matching as the process by which people are dynamically aligned with organisations and the conditions inside them (roles, jobs, responsibilities, etc.). Matching takes place within the context of the relationship between employer and employee. Psychology takes a person-situational approach that explains that conduct depends on people and situations. According to this logic, a match can be described as an employee-organism relationship where employment is a relevant person's circumstance. Match quality, defined as the degree of compatibility, congruence between the individual and the environment or resemblance.  The typical selection mechanism is the focus of most model matches and organisational development, such as the  attraction, selection, attrition, or ASA model (Schneider, 1987). In the ASA model, organisations change as selected employees in the organisation (the creation stage). Furthermore, as people are attracted by similar employees and low-quality matches induce exits (the termination stage), businesses are becoming increasingly homogenous over time.    Organisation Aspect-Human Capital Development 

• Selection and recruitment: It is a fundamental job of HR to recruit individuals and to choose the finest ones for the firm. People are the organisation’s vital lifeblood and it’s a crucial duty to discover the greatest match. When a new job is formed or an old job opens, the request for new hires generally starts. The director then sends the job description to the human capital department and the department begins to solicit applicants 

• Performance Management: Performance management is crucial when employees are on board. It means encouraging employees to make themselves their best at work and to improve the company’s performance. Employees usually have a certain set of responsibilities to carry out. Performance Management is a structure that allows employees to receive performance feedback - to achieve their best performance 
• Education and development: People are the product of life events, their country and era and a variety of cultural influences. Within human capital, learning and development guarantee that staff adapt to procedure, technological and social and/or regulatory changes. Learning and development encourages staff to retrain and increase their skills. Learning and development (L&D) is guided by human resources and strong policies can allow the organisation to achieve its long-term goals 

  Role of universities: Build Human Capitals locally  By strengthening the skills and knowledge – or the human capital – of its population, colleges and universities may make an economic success of a country. One method these institutions can raise the level of human capital is for graduates who join the region’s educated workforce. Moreover, research efforts at universities in the area not only enable a region to get new information and technology but also to help current companies expand and innovate. In turn, these “spillover effects” can increase the demand for highly qualified workers in the region.  Conventional approaches to the evaluation of economic activity generated by universities and colleges frequently focus on direct employment or expenditure and a multiplier impact for the obtaining of indirect and induced results. However, for an essential reason, the potential impact of colleges and universities exceeds these usual effects: Such institutions can contribute towards building a region’s knowledge and skills or human capital, a key component of an area’s financial success. Indeed, a country with stronger human capital levels is likely to have larger economic activity quantities and faster economic growth. Moreover, its workers are more productive and receive decent salaries.    Local socio- economic development  A person’s human capital has long been acknowledged as contributing to his economic success. While human capital encompasses a range of knowledge and expertise, a college degree constitutes an important and easily quantified chunk of human capital. The number of college graduates vary greatly around the country, and economic activity accordingly. Research demonstrates that there is a positive link between the share of the population of a metro area with a working age of at least four years (the most popular indicator of the human capital stock of a county) and its per capita GDP (a standard measure of economic activity).    Higher education and local human resources  Besides the highly qualified professionals, colleges and universities can also boost local human capital in two additional ways. First, and perhaps most visibly, by producing talented workers these institutions can boost the supply of human capital. New graduates enhance human capital immediately in a country if they remain and enter the local job market. Secondly, much of the R&D work in the GoSL is taking place at universities and colleges. Research and development efforts can potentially improve the amount of human capital in an area if spills into the local economy increase demand for human capital, independent of whether or not human resources are generated locally.    Match Key performance indicators (KPIs)  The linkage between the company business strategy and the human capital management system is also crucial by creating key performance indicators (KPIs). These measurements are quantifiable, based on the predefined company success factor. Measures on performance management and KPIs provide an indication of efficiency, effectiveness and level of attainment of organisational goals and goals in the organisation's performance management procedures. The success of any company depends on people. Employees' performance can be a corporate obligation or asset.    Way forward   

• Responsibility of higher education 

  By providing industrial degrees and engaging in research activities, colleges and universities can enhance both the supply and demand for human resources. Higher education institutions can thus play a key role in the growth of the local economy. However, authorities should examine a variety of factors in their efforts to improve local human capital. First, while the supply of human capital in metropolitan regions is increasing at schools and universities, there is only a slight positive relationship.      

• Private sectors scholarships programmes 

  Private sector companies are persuaded that training and the development of local talent remain two of the most effective levers to strengthen the national competitiveness of Sri Lanka. Companies should award educational bonds and invest in human funding programmes in school aid for the finest and brightest of the nation.    

• Programmes for Campus Ambassador 

  The Campus Ambassador programme, which aims to build companies’ efficient and varied talent pool. By using this program, the companies promote connections between academia and the energy business by developing curricula and enhancing the employability of a university graduate. The activities conducted through the programme are adapted to ensure their relevance to students, based on the needs and requirements of the universities. Examples are skill-based workshops and expert sharing sessions, to give students a glimpse into their career.    

• Innovative partnerships 

  In order to help fulfil the expanding human capital requirements of the country, companies engage with governments, international scholars and industry specialists. Their cooperation includes the development of improved talents and improvement of skills.     

• All work together 

  In Sri Lanka, capital or funding alone cannot meet and overcome the problem of human capital and economic development. The public and corporate sector and civil society will have to work individually, cooperatively and collaboratively.   

Copyright Niresh Eliatamby and Nicholas Ruwan Dias Dr. Nicholas Ruwan Dias, BSc, MSc, PhD, and Niresh Eliatamby, LL.B., LL.M., MBA, are Managing Partners of Cogitaro.com, a consultancy that finds practical solutions for challenges facing society, the environment and all types of industries. Dr. Dias is a digital architect and educationist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ruwan@cogitaro.com Eliatamby is an author, journalist and educationist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. niresh@cogitaro.com