News
MOU with Australian Government funded Skills for Inclusive Growth Programme
The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) has entered into an MOU with the Australian Government funded Skills for Inclusive Growth Programme (S4IG), managed by Palladium International Group to increase collaboration to strengthen skills development in tourism.S4IG is a skills development programme of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) implemented in Sri Lanka in accordance with the terms of a Subsidiary Agreement signed on 31 March 2022 between DFAT and the Sri Lankan State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Training, Research & Innovations.
Parties agreed on the national implementation of the landmark TVEC Reasonable Adjustment Circular, guidelines, and tools to increase accessibility and skill recognition for people with disabilities, as well as the delivery of a training module to TVEC assessors. In addition, it was agreed that an Inclusion Toolkit will be created for use in assessor trainings and assessments in selected occupations.Data from the National Census of 2012 indicates a disability prevalence rate of 8.7%, with only 45% of youth with disabilities aged 15-19 years old attending upper secondary (grades 10 and 11) and collegiate (grades 12 and 13) levels. As a result, this segment of the population remains largely excluded from the labour market; 71% of adults with disability being economically inactive. The TVET system offers a solution to address the higher unemployment rate and low level of education among people with disabilities.
While historically people with disabilities are mainly enrolled in separate schools for education and vocational training, the recent policies issued by TVEC explicitly promotes training of persons with disabilities within mainstream vocational training institutes and support the transformation and incorporation of disability specific TVET programmes into NVQ framework. While enrolment of persons with disabilities in NVQ training courses remains so far limited, the circular aims to specifically remove assessment related barriers people with disabilities may face in the TVET system. This cooperation will support TVEC who is leading system changes to improve participation rates and ensuring all Sri Lankans are getting access to quality vocational training and access to employment.
TVEC will now enable the accreditation of S4IG-developed training courses/modules developed in collaboration with the tourism industry, government, and private hospitality-related training institutes. This will support TVEC to create International Standard curricula.The MOU formalizes the recognition of prior learning (RPL) and upskilling of existing personnel in the hospitality sector to enhance the skills of chefs and kitchen operations staff and enables work-based and online assessment tools developed for the micro, small, and medium enterprises to be scaled out across Sri Lanka. The TVEC website will now incorporate online flexible learning opportunities in the tourist and hospitality industries.S4IG will support TVEC in creating tools for all district coordination committees to identify skills gaps and eliminate local skill mismatches to produce the needed skills for local economic development. This planning tool kit will strengthen TVEC leadership in guiding training provision that is responsive to local employment opportunities and stimulate inclusive economic growth.
The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.
Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23.
Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments.
The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.
Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.
The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.
The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.
There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.
A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.
The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.
But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.
Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.
Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.
“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.
Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.
“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.
British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.
The UK competition watchdog said last month that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March
(BBC)
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
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