The Sri Lankan government is planning to introduce a National Data Interoperability and Identity Platform to facilitate exchange of critical data and digital information among government organizations.
Through this platform, it is expected to reconcile information requirements of various government institutions and also to improve the governance and usefulness of data in these organizations.
“We’re planning to submit papers to the Cabinet to get the necessary approval to spearhead this project in coming days. Furthermore, we’re hoping to complete the project within 6 months time,” Minister Ajith P. Perera, Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology told the National IT-BPM workforce Survey 2019 launch, carried out by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).
Noting that the current Sri Lankan ICT workforce has the ability to create products that are exportable and have an appeal to global consumers, the Minister also stressed that it is also essential to come up with more proactive measures to market the capabilities of Sri Lankan ICT workforce in the global arena to better garner more opportunities.When it comes to the demand-supply gap in ICT workforce, he said it shows that the demand exceeds the supply in a significant margin of 12,140. He said further despite the growth in numbers of graduate output, however, the projections indicate a situation of a widening gap between demand and supply of ICT workforce in the country.
“ If we can produce at least 50,000 ICT professionals per annum, I’m confident that the country will be able to successfully achieve its set economic targets without difficulty, ” Minister Perera said.
The report also indicated that the overall strength of ICT workforce has grown from 82,854 in 2014 to 124,873 in 2018 which amounts to a growth of 50.7%. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 10.80%. However, it indicates a slowdown in the growth of ICT workforce to the period between 2010-2013, which recorded a CAGR of 14.4%. Thus, figures represent a reasonable growth considering the global and domestic economic conditions that prevailed during the period. And it is projected to increase further to 146,089 by 2019. Workforce situation in major employer categories indicates about a drastic structural change. Nearly the entire growth experienced by the workforce during the period appeared to be predominantly contributed by ICT companies.
The report also says that ICT companies have become the dominant employer with a share of 65.5% of the workforce, overtaking non-ICT companies (22%) by a distant margin. Government organizations and BPM companies have reported 7.1 % and 4.2 % shares, respectively.
Overall this has changed the composition of ICT workforce in favour of ICT companies increasing their share. On the other hand, the share of non-ICT companies has dramatically dropped from 2013 to 2018. As per the composition of the workforce which was analysed based on the job categories in the total workforce, the report indicates that software engineering and software quality assurance are the job categories occupied by most employees. All together, they amounted to more than half of the total workforce which is 54%.
Parallel to the IT workforce, the BPM workforce in the country has increased from 17,427 in 2014 to 25,510 in 2018, which represents a growth of 46.2%.
It implies that the BPM workforce has grown at a CAGR of 9.99%. This represents a slight acceleration of growth compared with the period of 2010-2013 which reported a CAGR of 8.62%. The report also says that ICT companies have become the dominant employer with a share of 65.5% of the workforce, overtaking non-ICT companies (22%) by a distant margin. Government organizations and BPM companies have reported 7.1 % and 4.2 % shares, respectively. Overall this has changed the composition of ICT workforce in favour of ICT companies increasing their share. On the other hand, the share of non-ICT companies has dramatically dropped from 2013 to 2018.
ICT women participation up to 34%
The gender composition of the ICT workforce has improved from 29% female participation in 2013 to 34% in 2018, According to National IT –BPM Workforce Survey 2019.
The overall gender composition indicates that Sri Lanka’s ICT workforce is still a male dominant workforce. Two thirds of ICT jobs are occupied by males. However, this composition varies significantly across major employer categories. The lowest share of female employees (29.4%) was reported from ICT companies. As per the report, the share increases to 35.6% in non-ICT private companies. It has reached just over 40 % in government organizations.
As at 2013, BPM companies maintained a situation of near gender balance in BPM workforce with over 48% female participation.
0 comments: