Sri Lanka's brain-drain will cease with economic boom

Sri Lanka's talent migration patterns will change with its economic boom and the country will be able to retain its talent, says a top management accountancy professional.

" In this post- war era, Sri Lanka will attract more investment opportunities. Colombo is noticeably more vibrant than two years ago and there's noticeably more growth.

So the opportunities will also increase with this growth and this will bring about a change in migration patterns of Sri Lankans who migrate for better employment," Andrew Harding, Managing Director - UK- based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants ( CIMA) told the Business Times.

He noted that there're many locals who are CIMA qualified and employed around the world. " When migration patterns change more people will come to the country and also many more can be retained," he pointed out.

He said that countries which show high economic growth attract skilled labour and knowledge capital which further raises their productivity talent.

He said that skilled labour contributes to increasing productivity and output. In turn, productivity is a key source not only for increasing economic growth but also for improving standards of living of a nation. Mr. Harding said that quality human capital is a fundamental factor for attracting foreign investment.

" Additionally, skills increase productivity, and attract foreign direct investment since they are considered as raw material in the knowledge based economies and are important determinants of revenue," he pointed out.

In a modern globalized economy, changes in technology, liberalisation of the market as well as the flow of foreign direct investment and skills development is essential to keep the growth performance sustainable, he added.

Mr. Harding was here to participate at the 2012 CIMA Global business challenge held recently. Some 22 countries participated at this competition.