Sri Lanka is planning to establish a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre in Wijerama in collaboration with Singapore, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced at the Economic and Investment Summit on Monday (12).
The President said the government expects to obtain Cabinet approval for the proposed centre next week as part of efforts to strengthen advanced technological skills and address employment challenges in the country’s IT sector.
He acknowledged that Sri Lanka is facing a shortage of suitable employment opportunities for IT graduates, despite approximately 17,000 students entering the sector annually from state and private universities.
Responding to a question about the future of the technology industry, the President said the main challenge was no longer a shortage of workers but the level of skills possessed by graduates.
He noted that many graduates currently possess intermediate-level skills, while employment opportunities are increasingly available in more advanced technological fields.
The President said Sri Lanka must upgrade its IT education and training systems to meet the changing demands of industries such as artificial intelligence, big data, quantum computing and blockchain technology.
He also highlighted plans to expand international employment opportunities through business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and remote working arrangements.
According to the President, university degree programmes must also evolve to produce graduates with the advanced technical skills required by the rapidly developing global IT industry.
He stressed that moving Sri Lanka’s IT sector into higher-value technological fields would be essential to addressing the employment challenges facing graduates. (Newswire)