The National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka held a successful meeting with the higher officials of different ministries w8ith the objective of capturing the institutional cadre requirements in devising a Public Sector Human Resource Information System. The following higher officials were present at the meeting.

• Thusitha P Wanigasingha - Chairman, NHRDC
• Wijayalechchumy - Additional Secretary (Reforms), Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government
• Waruna Dhanapala - Additional Secretary (Regional Admin) Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government
• Sunil de Alwis - Additional Secretary (Medical Services) Ministry of Health
• Prasad Piyasena - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Labour, and Foreign Employment
• Ruchikaka Amarasekara - Chairman NAITA
• Hilary Elmo E. Silva - Professor in Accounting, University of Sri Jayawardenapura.
• Dakshina Kasthuriarachchi – Director (Data Management) Ministry of Education
• P.W. Pramuksha Hiruni Vithanage - Director (IT), Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture

The need for a Digital Public Sector Human Resource Information System is strongly felt when taking decisions related to HR in the public sector. Therefore, as the detailed cadre details and employee information in the Public sector are not available at a single agency, the NHRDC initiated the task of developing a human resources information system for the entire public sector. The first sub-committee meeting was held on 2nd of March 2023 at 2.30 PM in the Boardroom of the University Grants Commission, The following officials participated in the initial meeting.

1. Mr. Thusitha P. Wanigasinghe – Chairman, NHRDC
2. Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunge - Chairman, UGC
3. Mr. Ruchiaka Amarasekara - Chairman, NAITA
4. Mr. Anuradha Wijekoon - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Pub Ad.
5. Mrs. R. Wijayalechchumi - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Pub Ad.
6. Mr. Chaminda Pathiraja - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries
7. Mr. Saman Waduge - Additional Secretary. Ministry of Youth
8. Mr. R.K. Jayalath – Director, Department of Management Services, The Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies
9. Prof. Hilary Elmo E. Silva - Professor in Accounting, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Council Member of NHRDC
10. Mrs. Anusha Gokula - Director General, Department of Manpower and Employment, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment
11. Ms. P.W. Pramuksha Hiruni Vithanage - Director Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture
12. Mr. Gavashkar Subramanium - Director (Digital Government), ICTA, Ministry of Technology
13. Ms. U.V. Jayakody - Director, Department of Census and Statistics
14. Dr. G. S. P. Ranasinghe – Head of HR, Ministry of Health
15. Mrs. J. A. C. P. Jayasinghe – Director (Cover-up), NHRDC
16. Mr. D. Senthilnathan – Research Officer, NHRDC
17. Ms. Uda Weerasena - Research Officer, NHRDC
18. Mr. Sandeepa Rajapaksha - Research Officer, NHRDC
19. Ms. N. D. Edirisinghe - Research Officer, NHRDC

The final committee meeting on developing the Human Resources Development Index (HRDI) was conducted on the 28th of February 2023 at 2 pm in the NHRDC Board Room. The meeting objective of the final meeting is to finalize the developed draft HRDI report with the comments of the committee members.

Following members were participated in this meeting;

• Mr. Thusitha P. Wanigasinghe, Chairman, NHRDC
• Prof. Gamini De Alwis, Former Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo – (Committee Chairperson)
• Mrs. U.V. Jayakody, Director, Department of Census and Statistics– (Committee Member)
• Mr. G.A.M.U. Ganepola, Director (IS), TVEC – (Committee Member)
• Mrs. Jayani Thilakaratne, Director (HRD), Ministry of Education– (Committee Member)
• Mrs. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe, Director (Covering-up), NHRDC– (Committee Member)
• Mr. R.D.C.S. Rajapaksha, Research officer, NHRDC
• Mr. D. Senthilnadan, Research officer, NHRDC
• Miss. Navoda Edirisinghe, Research officer, NHRDC
• Miss. Uda Weerasena, Research officer, NHRDC

Mr. Thusitha P. Wanigasinghe, Chairman, NHRDC initiated the meeting by welcoming the committee members. After that, Prof. Gamini De Alwis, was chaired the meeting. Prof. Premakumara De Silva, Member of the Commission, UGC, Dr. Mrs. Iranga S. Yaddehige, Head (HRM and Coordination unit)(Covering-up), Ministry of Health, Mr. W.G. Prabath, Additional Director(HR Development), Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and Mr. Ravindu Sachintha, Assistant Manager (Professional & Academic) on behalf of Mr. G. Weeratunge, Director - Professional & Academic Affairs, CIPM,   joined the meeting via Zoom.

NHRDC met with the Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and the Chairman of NAITA on 31^st January. This engagement was a part of a series of meetings conducted with regard to the National Human Resource Development Database as the employment data and cadre details are crucial for the government to take policy decisions.  In the first phase of this venture NHRDC in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government, is collecting the organizational cadre details in the public sector employment. The second phase, is to collect the individual data of each and every employee in the public sector. Accordingly, it was proposed to get the support of the Ministry of Labour and the other stakeholders for the development of this database. Therefore, the next meeting will be conducted with the higher officials of the Ministry of Labour and the relevant stakeholders.

Mrs. Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Industries, Mr. Thusitha P. Wanigasinghe, Chairman of NHRDC, Mr. Ruchika Amarasekara, Chairman of NAITA, and  senior officials from NHRDC participated in this discussion.
 

NHRDC collaboratively developed a course module to build the capabilities of the entrepreneurs who are engaged in the solid waste management sector to find a long-term solution for the Solid waste problem and make novel entrepreneurs in this sector. The main objective of this program is to facilitate a certificate course in solid waste management in order to produce entrepreneurs with sound management skills together with competent skills in technical know-how in solid waste management. As a ship Pilot program, this course was launched by NHRDC on 20^th October 2019 at the Entrepreneur Development Department of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

The certificates awarding ceremony for those who successfully completed the course was held at the Department of Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewadenepura on 28.01.2023. On behalf of NHRDC, Mrs. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe, Director (C.U), and Mr. D.Senthilnathan, Research Officer participated as guests at this occasion.

Discussion to Streamline the NHRDC Activities.

The NHRDC conducted a discussion on 25th January 2023 at the NHRDC Boardroom under the objective to streamline NHRDC activities with the participation of:

· Mr. Thusitha P. Wanigasinghe – Chairman, NHRDC

· Dr. K. A. Lalithadheera - Director General, TVEC

· Dr. Samantha Rathnayake - Senior Management Consultant/Faculty Member, Postgraduate Institute of Management

P. A. G. Fernando - Director, General, Department of Manpower and Employment
V. H. C. Shiromali - Director (HRM and IR), Department of Manpower and Employment
NHRDC Staff

NHRDC held the first Rakiya Aruna Career Fair and Career Motivation Programme for the year 2022 on 30 th of June 2022 at Negombo Municipal Council Hall. With the participation of more than hundreds of youth and 10 private sector companies (Dialog, Richard Pieris Pvt Ltd, Keells Distribution Centre, Cargills, Agro Venture, GVP Pvt Ltd, SPAR SL Pvt Ltd, Softlogic Life Pvt Ltd and five Vocational training Institutes (TVEC, SLITHM, VTA, Youth Corps, Nenasela Training Centre, Don Bosco Training Centre) the program was successfully concluded. The Divisional Secretary of Negombo Divisional Secretariat graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.  Secretary and Commissioner of the Negombo Municipal Council, and representatives of the Department of Manpower were also present at the occasion.

A training session was conducted for the staff of NHRDC on the topic "Attitude Change" on 2^nd June 2022. Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawarathne was the resource person for the program. 

The third committee meeting on developing the Human Resources Development Index (HRDI) was conducted on 5^th of May 2022 at 2 pm at the NHRDC Board Room. The meeting objective of 3^rd meeting is to identify HRD data points and relevant data sources in order to collect data for the study.

Following members were participated in this meeting;

• Prof. Gamini De Alwis, Former Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo – (Committee Chairperson)
• Prof. Premakumara De Silva, Member of the Commission, UGC– (Committee Member)
• Dr. Mrs. Iranga S. Yaddehige, Head (HRM and Coordination unit)(Covering-up), Ministry of Health– (Committee Member)
• Mr. W.G. Prabath, Additional Director(HR Development), Central Bank of Sri Lanka– (Committee Member)
• Mr. S.P.N.P.N. Abeysekara, Deputy Director, Department of National Planning on behalf of Mr. E.A. Rathnaseela, Addl. Director General , Department of National Planning,– (Committee Member)
• Mrs. A.A.U.S. Adikari, Senior Assistant Secretary (HRD), Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government on behalf of Mr. K.R. Uduwawela, Addl. Secretary(HRD), Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government– (Committee Member)
• Mr. G. Weeratunge, Director - Professional & Academic Affairs, CIPM – (Committee Member)
• Mrs. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe, Director (Covering-up), NHRDC– (Committee Member)
• Mr. R.D.C.S. Rajapaksha, Research officer, NHRDC
• Mr. D. Senthilnadan, Research officer, NHRDC
• Miss. Navoda Edirisinghe, Research officer, NHRDC
• Miss. Uda Weerasena, Research officer, NHRDC

Prof. Gamini De Alwis, was chaired the meeting. Mr. R. C. De. Zoysa, Chief Secretary, Southern Provincial Council joined the meeting via Zoom.

The second committee meeting on developing the Human Resources Development Index (HRDI) was conducted on 8^th April 2022 at 2 pm at the NHRDC Board Room. The meeting objective of 2^nd meeting is to finalize the study scope, TOR and to discuss the way forward for conducting this study.

Following members were participated in this meeting;

• Prof. Gamini De Alwis, Former Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo – (Committee Chairperson)
• Dr. Iranga S. Yaddehige, Head (HRM and Coordination unit)(Covering-up), Ministry of Health– (Committee Member)
• Mr. S.P.N.P.N. Abeysekara, Deputy Director, Department of National Planning on behalf of Mr. E.A. Rathnaseela, Addl. Director General , Department of National Planning,– (Committee Member)
• Mr. W.K.B.A.S. Parakkrama, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs- (Committee Member)
• Mrs. U.V. Jayakody, Director, Department of Census and Statistics– (Committee Member)
• Mr. G.A.M.U. Ganepola, Director (IS), TVEC on behalf of Dr. Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director General, TVEC– (Committee Member)
• Mrs. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe, Director (Covering-up), NHRDC– (Committee Member)
• Mr. D. Senthilnadan, Research officer, NHRDC
• Mr. R.D.C.S. Rajapaksha, Research officer, NHRDC
• Miss. Uda Weerasena, Research officer, NHRDC

Prof. Gamini De Alwis, was chaired the meeting. Mr. Fazil, Assistant Director (HR), Ministry of Education on behalf of Dr.(Mrs.) Madura M. Wehella, Addl. Secretary  (Policy, Planning and Performance Review), Ministry of Education joined the meeting via Zoom.

National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka (NHRDC) organized a meeting with Export Development Board (EDB), Industrial Development Board (IDB), National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA), and Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) held on the 4^th April 2022 from 2.00 PM – 3.45 PM at the Board Room, NHRDC. The objective of this meeting was to identify the human resources and skills issues faced by the particular sector. This discussion also focused on the skills passport, which is a comprehensive portfolio of skills and qualifications of a worker and the available occupations and an online career test that has been published on the TVEC website

Mr. S.R.P. Indrakeerthi, Additional Director General (Finance and Admin) – EDB, Dr. Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director-General, TVEC, Mr. Mohan Gunasinghe, Director (Technical Services), IDB, Mrs. Kumuduni, Director,  EDB, Mr. Dhanuka Liyanagamage, Director, NEDA, Mr. Upul Akmeemana, Acting Director (HRM), EDB and Mr. Nalin Chinthaka, Head of Admin, NEDA have participated for the meeting. Mrs. J.A.C.P.Jayasinghe, Director (cover-up), NHRDC chaired the meeting. Mrs. G.G.Kasuni Uthpala (Legal Officer cum Council Secretary), Mr. D. Senthilnadan (Research Officer), Ms. Navoda Edirisinghe (Research Officer), and Ms. Uda Weerasena (Research Officer) participated in the meeting from NHRDC.

The NHRDC organized a discussion with the Tourism Sector on 30^th March 2022 at the TVEC Boardroom. This discussion was aimed at identifying the current labour demand, labour supply and the skills requirements of the tourism sector. The discussion also focused on the existing situation of the tourism sector, National Guide Course delivered by NAITA, and the existing gap among the courses delivered by universities.  

The following officials were present at the meeting: Mr. Jayathunga, Deputy Director General (Acting)   (Academic) at Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), Mr. M.U. Liyanarachchi, Director (HR), Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Ms. Poornima Kumarasinghe, Asst. Director (HR), Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), Mr. H P Priyadarshana, Asst. Director, Ministry of Tourism Development, Mr. Manjula Vidanapathirana Actig. Director, Tertiary Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), Ms. Lakshika Karunaratne, Manager (HRM), Airport Aviation Services (SL) Pvt Ltd, Mr. Rohan Abeywickrema, President of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism Sri Lanka (ASMET), Mr Nilan Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan Institute Tourist Organization (SLITO), Mr Romesh Samaranayake, Travel Agent Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL), Mr. Imran Hassan, President of Sri Lanka Association of Professional Conference, Exhibition & Event Organisers (SLAPCEO), Mr. Sumith Bandula, Senior Lecturer,  Department of Economic, University of Colombo, Mr. Sampath Siriwardana, Senior Lecturer, CINEC Campus, together with the NHRDC Staff:  Mrs. J.A.C.P.Jayasinghe, Director-Cover up, Mr. D.Senthilnathan, Research Officer, Ms. Navoda Edirisinghe, Research Officer, Mr. Sandeepa Rajapaksha, Research Officer, Ms. Uda Weerasena, Research Officer. Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, Chairman, National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka chaired the meeting.

The NHRDC organized a discussion with the Construction Sector companies on 29^th March 2022 at the TVEC Boardroom. This discussion was aimed at identifying the current labour demand, labour supply and the skills requirements of the construction sector. The discussion also focused on the future job demand and the issue of skills mismatch in the Construction Sector and the trend of flowing foreign labour into Sri Lanka.

The following officials were present at the meeting: Mr. Nalindu Sarukkalige, HR Manager at Tudawe Brothers (Pvt) Ltd, Mrs. J.A.N.N.K Jayakody, Director at Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA), Miss.  Poornima Karunarathna from Frigi Engineering Services Private Limited, Mr. Chandra Kumara Karunatilaka, Group Manager Finance & Manager Administration at Sierra Construction Ltd, Mr. Lal Thennakoon, Senior Assistant Secretary at Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka (CCI), Mr. Manjula Herath, Head of Human Resources & Administration at International Construction Consortium (Pvt)Ltd, Eng. L. C. K. Karunaratne, Deputy General Manager (TRD) and Mr. L. P. Jayasundara, Deputy General Manager (HR & A) at Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB), Mr. Dinushan Thennakoon, Manager HR at MAGA Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, Mrs. R. W. N. Wijerathna, Deputy Manager (Human Resources) at Sanken Construction (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Manjula Vidhanapathirana, Act. Director ( Industrial Liaison) at TVEC, Mr. Erandika Dissanayake, National Project Coordinator at ILO together with the NHRDC team. Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, Chairman, National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka chaired the meeting.

The NHRDC organized a discussion with the renowned IT companies in Sri Lanka. The discussion was held on 29^th March 2022 10.00 am at the Auditorium of The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission. This discussion was aimed at identifying the current labour demand, labour supply and the skills requirements of the IT sector. The discussion also focused on the future job demand and the issue of skills mismatch in the IT Sector. The representatives raised prevailing HRD issues that need immediate action. The discussion was successfully concluded with the agreement of meeting quarterly.

The following officials were present at the meeting: Ms. Ayin Shah Jahan, Vice President (HR) at Millennium IT ESP, Mr. Shanka Fernando, Director at SLASSCOM, Mr. Dumidu Dassanayake , Senior Manager (Compensation and Benefits) at Dialog Axiata PLC, Mr. Kusalitha Devruwan , Senior Manager Business Partnering and Employee Wellbeing/IR at Dialog Axiata PLC,  Ms. Maryam Cader, Director (HR & Administration) at WSO2, Ms. Binuri Dharmasena, HR Executive at Arimac Lanka, Ms. Thilanka Jayathilake, Director (Human Resources) at IFS, Ms. Rikaza Faiz Head of HR Operations and Resourcing at Mobitel, Mr. Kanchana Jayaweera,  Head of IS Strategy and Customer Operations at Mobitel, Ms. Medavi Gunasekara Manager (HR) at Samapth IT Solutions, Mr. Udara Ariyarathne Head of Innovations at Samapth IT Solutions together with the NHRDC team. Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, Chairman, National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka chaired the meeting.

The first committee meeting on developing the Human Resources Development Index (HRDI) was conducted on 28^th March 2022 at 2 pm at the NHRDC Board Room. The main objective of this committee is to explore the necessity and possibility of devising an effective mechanism to measure the HRD status of the National and Sub National levels.

Following members were participated in this meeting.:Prof. Gamini De Alwis, Former Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo (Committee Chairperson), Mr. Deepal Chandrathilake , Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Labour on behalf of Mr. Lal Samarasekara, Addl. Secretary (Administration), Ministry of Labour (Committee Member), Dr. Mrs. Iranga S. Yaddehige, Head (HRM and Coordination unit)(Covering-up), Ministry of Health (Committee Member), Mr. A.M. Gunathilake, Director (HR Development), Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Committee Member), Mrs. U.V. Jayakody, Director, Department of Census and Statistics (Committee Member), Mr. G.A.M.U. Ganepola, Director (IS), TVEC on behalf of Dr. Janaka Jayalath, Deputy Director General, TVEC– (Committee Member), Mrs. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe, Director (Covering-up), NHRDC(Committee Member) together with the participation of Ms. Navoda Edirisinghe, Research officer, Mr. R.D.C.S. Rajapaksha, Research officer, Miss. Uda Weerasena, Research officer of NHRDC.  Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, the chairman of NHRDC initiated the meeting. Prof. Premakumara De Silva, Member of the Commission, UGC (Committee Member) and Mrs. Nimmi Ariyaratne, Programme Quality & Design Analyst, UNDP Sri Lanka (Committee Member) joined the meeting via ZOOM.

The NHRDC officials held a successful discussion with the Chief Secretary and the higher officials of the Western Provincial Council with the aim of identifying strategies to develop the human resource at Provincial Council Level. The discussion focused on the HRD issues existing within the ministries of the Provincial Council. The following officials were present at the meeting.

1. Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti – Chairman, NHRDC
2. Ms. J.M.C Jayanthi Wijethunge – Chief Secretary, Western Provincial Council
3. Mr. P. Somasiri – Secretary to the Governor
4. Ms. A.D.S Sadeeka – Secretary, Ministry of Local Government (Western Province)
5. Ms. W.T.A Manel – Deputy Chief Secretary (PTR)
6. Mr. H.G.G S Dharmasena – Secretary, Ministry of Health (Western Province)
7. Ms. A.M.S Malkanthi – Deputy Chief Secretary (Finance) (Western Province)
8. Ms. A.M.J.I Abayamanna – Assistant Secretary (Provincial Public Service Commission) (Western Province)
9. Ms. B.E Kaushalya Cooray – Assistant Chief Secretary (Training) (Western Province)
10. Ms. R.C Indika (Personnel) (Western Province)
11. Mr. H.P.A.P Hewawasam – Chief MSO (Personal and Training) (Western Province)
12. Ms. Navoda Edirisinghe – Research Officer, NHRDC
13. Ms. Uda Weerasena - Research Officer, NHRDC

The NHRDC held a meeting on Thursday, 16^th March 2022, with the officials of the Department of Manpower and Employment, to discuss the National Human Resources Development Policy and the Labour Market Analysis, which are planned to be initialized by the NHRDC. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, Chairman, NHRDC. The following officials were present at the meeting.

1. Ms. Anusha Gokula - Director General , Department of Manpower and Employment
2. Mr. S.K.W. Sisira Kumara - Director (PES), Department of Manpower and Employment
3. Ms. M.K. Sithara Jayasena – Director, (Career Guidance), Department of Manpower and Employment
4. Ms. B.H.C. Shiromali – Director (HRM), Department of Manpower and Employment
5. Ms. J.A.C.P. Jayasinghe – Director (Cover-up), NHRDC
6. Mr. D. Senthilnathan – Research Officer, NHRDC
7. Ms. N.D. Edirisinghe – Research Officer, NHRDC
8. Mr. Sandeepa Rajapaksha - Research Officer, NHRDC
9. Ms. Uda Weerasena - Research Officer, NHRDC

NHRDC has successfully conducted the initial meeting with INGOs on the 3^rd of March 2022, at the TVEC Boardroom. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Chinthaka S. Lokuhetti, chairman of NHRDC with the objective of getting the involvement of INGOs towards the human resource development in Sri Lanka. The below-mentioned representatives of respective institutions were present at the meeting.

1. Ms. Nimmi Ariyaratne – Programme Quality & Design Analyst - UNDP
2. Mr. Dilan Jayasekera - Business Partner HR Operations – World Vision Lanka
3. Mr. Erandika Dissanayake - National Project Coordinator- ILO
4. Ms. Rushika Pieris - Head of Human Resources - Save the Children
5. Mr. Tilak Karunaratne - Country Programme Manager - Oxfam in Sri Lanka
6. Ms. Mumtaz Aroos Faleel - Country Director - WUSC Sri Lanka
7. Ms. Subashi Dissanayake - Country Director - HELVETAS SRI LANKA
8. Ms. Anna Yoo Gyoung Kim - Partnerships Specialist - UNOPS
9. Ms. Udani Dissanayake - Partnerships Development Assistant - UNOPS