The exodus of our Human Capital!

The loss of human capital and its impact on our country which is in the throes of recovering from an economic morass. It is quite traumatizing to note that our medical doctors are taking the wing to offer their services in other countries with not much prospect of returning to serve their motherland. The sad news is that the only one specialist in Paediatric Radiology in the country has also migrated.

The plight of our pilots serving the national carrier is no different, they too are flying out of the country in desperation as their remuneration package is meagre and they have been denied commensurate emoluments according to the Airline Pilot’s Guild of Sri Lanka. The One World Cockpit Crew Coalition, OCCC too voiced their support for the Airline Pilot’s Guild of Sri Lanka in their efforts to restore pay and working conditions.

The prevailing trend of our valuable human capital making their exit from the country, may not augur well for the future of our country as there may be professionals in other fields as well who would not hesitate to follow suit in their quest to tide over the prevailing economic situation. As it is, we also see that our paramedics and nursing staff too leaving the country to secure lucrative job opportunities abroad, which may have an impact on the availability of specialized skills that are needed to treat the sick.

Quite a number of our skilled workers have already left the country, and it was claimed recently that even the hotel staff that are essential to keep the hotel industry afloat and sustain tourism with their expertise in the many specialized areas have left the shores in search of greener pastures.

The foreign employment market which was sometimes predominantly geared towards catering to the manpower needs of the Middle East has diversified into other countries in its quest to seek employment opportunities for our workforce. This is an indication that foreign countries are keen to employ our human resources as they know the value of our homegrown talent and competencies. The human capital haemorrhage that we are experiencing at the moment will spell disastrous consequences for the country and will further exacerbate the economic morass plunging our nation into the abyss of doom and gloom.

DON PETER DEHIWELA