Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit 2024 to Focus on Building a Future-Ready Workforce

On 18th of July 2024, the Temple Trees auditorium will convene a powerhouse group, with public and Private sector corporate leaders representing multi-industries and disciplines in a quest to deliberate, debate and discuss the way forward to ensure that our country has the right human capital – talent, capability and availability to meet the nations development needs of the future. A future ready workforce, at the Sri Lanka Human Capital Summit (SLHCS) 2024.

The Ministry of Investment Promotion together with the Board of Investment Sri Lanka, Colombo Port City Economic Commission, the Association of HR Professionals Sri Lanka, World bank, ADB, Deloitte, India CEO forum, the society for human resource development (SHRM – USA), KPMG Sri Lanka, Access Engineering, Commercial Bank and Daily FT, have come together to organize this very important “Human Capital Summit” look at future proofing our countries human capability needs. This SLHCS will be inaugurated by the President Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has fully endorsed the direction of this summit and given his valuable input to gather all related stakeholders recognizing the importance of this summit. Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardana also will be in attendance.

The Convener and head of the steering committee of this summit corporate leader Dinesh Weerakkody Chairman BOI, Colombo Port City Economic Commission and Employers Federation elaborated on the aim, context, and topicality of having this summit at this crucial juncture of our country where there is a talent shortage and brain drain. He articulated as follows.

The economic trajectory of Sri Lanka stands at a pivotal juncture. To propel our nation from a lower-middle to an upper-middle income level, we must embark on a transformative journey - one that hinges on the development of our most asset - human capital.

The Imperative of human capital development

Achieving this requires more than fiscal policies and infrastructure investments; it demands a strategic focus on our people. As the fourth industrial revolution reshapes global economies, we recognize that sustainable growth hinges on inclusivity. Our challenge lies in harnessing the potential of every citizen, ensuring that no one is left behind.

To achieve the above, we must look at: Navigating complexity and urgency. The urgency is palpable. The intersection of technological disruption, environmental stewardship, and social equity adds layers of complexity. Sri Lanka’s path forward must be both innovative and inclusive. Building a resilient export economy. Our vision extends beyond borders. To thrive in the global marketplace, Sri Lanka must build a sustainable export economy that withstands the tides of change. Our products and services should resonate with international partners, positioning us as a preferred trading partner. Current alarming Human Capital Index (HCI) statistics, where Sri Lanka’s HCI has stagnated at 0.58 since 2012. This index reflects our nation’s utilization of human potential—currently operating at 42% below its capacity. Urgent corrective measures are non-negotiable.

In 2016, the SLHCS convened key decision-makers, sparking thought-provoking conversations that reverberated across our nation. These dialogues yielded breakthrough ideas—seeds of transformation that promise to elevate Sri Lanka’s human capital. With recommended action.

Building a future-ready Global talent pool – 2024 and beyond

We have gathered learning from 2016 and focused on key pillars that strategically contribute towards Sri Lanka’s economic growth. At the upcoming summit SLHCS 2024, under the theme of Unlocking Sri Lanka's economic potential by building a future-ready Global talent pool, we will explore how to nurture, harness, and amplify our human capital.

Summit Approach

The summit will have comprehensive technical sessions on critical industry sectors. Sutheash Balasubramaniam and Chandi Dharmaratne, as the Co-chairs of the technical sessions of the SLHCS 2024, entrusted with the task of roping in the best brains and proven specialists to share their insights and experiences had this to say.

Whilst there are multiple industries it was decided to stay focused to ensure the summit is informative, in-depth and outcome driven. Hence, the following key pillars were prioritized based on the impact and the strategic potential it makes towards the economy of Sri Lanka: Public Sector Capacity, Information Technology, Tourism, Financial Services and Start-ups.

Each pillar will feature an expert keynote speaker who will set context and a panel focusing on actionable strategies based on the identified solutions and challenges to build a future-ready Global talent pool. Hence respective panels will focus on:

1. How to increase the talent pipeline.
2. Capability development, to build a skill-ready, Global human capital pool.
3. What are the talent retention strategies to stem the talent drain?

A number of international dignitaries as key note speakers and guests of honor including Hon Scott Morrison former prime minister of Australia, Hon Mohomed Nasheed former President of the Maldives, Dr Zambi Abdul Kadir Minister of Higher Education Malaysia, Roberta Malee Basset Global lead for tertiary education and senior education specialist at the World Bank, famed customer service guru Ron Koffman, Jonny C Taylor JR President and CEO of SHRM USA, Rajesh Nambiar the Chairman of NASSCOM and Deepak Bagla former MD and CEO Invest India will add value to the deliverables of the summit.

The local and international industry specialists contributing to the summit will share their experiences and bring in valuable input as to what Sri Lanka needs to do to have future ready work force.

The achievement of the above human capital development approaches and challenges from a technical HRD point of view is challenging. Modern approaches to human capital development need to be employed, which will be discussed on how an organization can bring in, a modern international approach, and experiences.

The Association of HR Professionals Sri Lanka the leading HR Professionals association in the country who was a co – organizer of the human capital summit in 2016 as well is a leading collaborator at this summit too. They bring industry specific human resource development insights to the discussion panels and moderators through their highly recognized executive committee members. Roshan Kulasuriya President of Association of HR Professionals Sri Lanka endorsed the following.

• To increase the talent pipeline by STEM Education, Skills Alignment, Digitalization, Diversity and Inclusion, Encouraging Sri Lankan diaspora to look at contributing their expertise to the country.
• To achieve Capability development ensuring a skill-ready, Global talent pool through Competency development, Industry-Academia Collaboration, Up-skilling, and Reskilling, investing in lifelong learning enable workers to adapt to changing job requirements through continuous training benchmarking Global trends.
• To focus on talent retention strategies to stem the talent drain by Competitive Compensation. Ensure salaries are competitive globally. Address wage disparities between Sri Lanka and other countries.

Achieving these objectives requires concerted efforts from government, private sector, professional bodies, education sector and civil society. The local and international industry/ specialists contributing to the summit will share their experiences and bring in valuable input as to what Sri Lanka needs to do to achieve the above

The technical session sector discussions will be moderated by our homegrown industry leaders: Tourism - Sanjeev Gardiner, Public Sector – Sujeeva Mudalige, Startups – Jeevan Gnanam, IT – Jehan Perinpanayagam and Financial services – Jonathan Alles. At the end of the technical sessions a “leadership forum” will follow, as the highlights to bring in the much-needed leadership paradigm to achieve the country’s capacity building targets, to be moderated by Dinesh Weerakkodu – the convener of the summit whilst the summit deliberations will be capsuled by Deloitte and later compiled into a comprehensive report.

The SLHCS 2024 brings in hope of a more productive, skills rich and future.