USAID in Sri Lanka Creates 10,000 Jobs in North with Local Firms with Rs 4bn Investment

02nd August 2010, www.island.lk

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Colombo, the development office of the U.S. Embassy, has recently forged four new business alliances with Sri Lankan private companies, under USAID’s Public/Private Alliance (PPA) Program. These partnerships are expected to create 10,000 full-time jobs in northern Sri Lanka.

These four alliances are all with Sri Lankan private companies. USAID’s investment of about Rs.1.1 billion is generating an additional Rs.2.9 billion investment from the private sector for a total investment of approximately Rs.4 billion in the construction, business process outsourcing, and apparel manufacturing sectors.

Construction Alliance

An alliance between USAID and a Sri Lankan construction consortium would establish seven mobile training centers for construction craftsmen in the Northern Province. Training would be provided to 5,000 persons over a period of six months including three months of on-the-job training.

Jaffna Garment Alliance

USAID has established another PPA with a leading garment textile firm in Jaffna which manufactures and exports denim textiles to U.S. clients including Levi’s, Jones New York, J.C. Penny, Tema, and Charles Voegele. This alliance would create 1,800 full-time jobs over the next three years.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Alliance

To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID would team with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers in each of the five districts in the Northern Province. Courses in Business Process Outsourcing, Enterprise Java, and English Language Skills would be offered at no charge to over 3,000 under- and unemployed students who will then participate in on-the-job training schemes with private firms.

Northern Garment Alliance

USAID is establishing another PPA with a major garment manufacturer to expand its operations to northern Sri Lanka.

This alliance is expected to initially employ 750 full-time staff and market its finished apparel to such firms as Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Columbia Sportswear, Next, Tesco, and Burberry. Emphasis would be placed on supporting widows, single mothers, and families with disabled members.