The Urgent Need to Foster High-Skilled Employment
As the global economy pivots toward innovation-driven development, countries around the world are investing heavily in building and retaining a high-skilled workforce. For Sri Lanka, which aspires to transition into a knowledge-based economy, this challenge has reached a critical juncture. The need to create and retain high-skilled employment is no longer an option, it is a national imperative. Without a resilient strategy to harness and anchor the country’s top talent, Sri Lanka risks hollowing out its most valuable asset: its educated human capital.
Despite repeated emphasis in policy documents and development plans, the share of high-skilled workers in Sri Lanka has declined from 23 percent in 2018 to just 20 percent in 2023. At a time when digital technologies, automation, and artificial intelligence are rendering low-skilled jobs increasingly obsolete, this regression is deeply concerning. The future of job creation lies in high-skilled sectors, technology, finance, research, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing, where expertise, adaptability, and creative problem-solving matter most. If Sri Lanka cannot retain or replenish its pool of highly educated professionals, it will find itself on the periphery of the global knowledge economy.
The recent wave of skilled migration only deepens this concern. A government circular introduced during the economic crisis, allowing public officers to take five years of no-pay leave without affecting their seniority or pension, has inadvertently contributed to a significant exodus. Many public sector professionals seized the opportunity to work abroad, seeking stability and better prospects. For those who were denied leave, resignation and migration became the only alternatives. This pattern of brain drain is not new, but it has been exacerbated by recent socio-economic instability, currency depreciation, and the rising cost of living.
To counter this flight of talent, Sri Lanka must address the root causes: inadequate compensation, lack of professional growth, and deteriorating quality of life. The average nominal hourly wage for high-skilled workers in Sri Lanka remains low by both regional and international standards. This wage gap, when combined with high inflation and poor public services, makes foreign employment an attractive, if not necessary, escape route for professionals.
Retaining talent requires more than moral appeals or temporary policy tweaks,it requires a national commitment to valuing expertise. Competitive remuneration, attractive benefit packages, and performance-based recognition are critical levers to keep high-skilled workers engaged and loyal. Beyond financial incentives, professionals need meaningful work environments, autonomy, access to research funding, and opportunities to innovate. The state and private sector alike must move beyond traditional hierarchical structures and foster collaborative ecosystems where knowledge workers thrive.
At the same time, Sri Lanka must aggressively expand its high-skilled employment base by investing in knowledge-based industries. This includes building robust IT infrastructure, incentivising innovation in health and biotechnology, and enabling advanced research through better funding and academic-industry linkages. Start-up ecosystems should be encouraged with easier access to capital, better incubation facilities, and policy support that nurtures rather than stifles initiative.
Furthermore, retention strategies should include mechanisms for re-engaging the diaspora. Many Sri Lankan professionals abroad still maintain emotional and familial ties to the country. Offering structured pathways for them to contribute, through remote mentorship, advisory roles, or short-term placements, can reintegrate this talent into national development without requiring full repatriation.
The cost of not acting is steep. A declining high-skilled workforce translates to lower innovation, weaker institutions, and slower recovery from economic crises. It also signals to the next generation that excellence is not rewarded at home, further fuelling emigration. For a nation that takes pride in its education system and has long invested in public schooling and university access, failing to provide meaningful employment for its brightest minds is a contradiction too glaring to ignore.
In the race toward a digital and knowledge-driven global economy, the winners will be those who nurture and hold on to their intellectual capital. For Sri Lanka, this means turning policy intentions into actionable frameworks, turning public expenditure into outcomes, and turning its talented youth into agents of national transformation, not distant success stories.
