Sri Lanka Launches Nationwide Hotel Staff Training Program To Empower Low Income Families And Support Tourism Growth

Published on September 5, 2025

The preamble of a nationwide training programme aimed astatine empowering group from economically disadvantaged families is transforming nan tourism manufacture successful Sri Lanka, which is poised for important growth. The initiative, which is led by nan Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), intends to create a beardown workforce that tin fulfill nan needs of a increasing industry. Given that tourism is predicted to summation dramatically complete nan adjacent respective years, this programme will beryllium basal to ensuring that nan assemblage has nan trained workers needed to grip nan surge of visitors while promoting socioeconomic growth.

Sri Lanka’s Growing Tourism Industry and Workforce Needs

Sri Lanka’s tourism manufacture is experiencing a revival, pinch nan authorities targeting 3 cardinal tourer arrivals successful 2025 and a medium-term extremity of 5 cardinal visitors. This eager target is expected to create thousands of occupation opportunities, peculiarly successful nan hospitality sector, arsenic hotels, resorts, and different tourism-related businesses hole to cater to a increasing number of world and home tourists.

As nan manufacture expands, nan request for skilled workers successful hotels and different service-orientated establishments will summation exponentially. Currently, Sri Lanka’s general edifice assemblage employs astir 421,000 individuals. However, by 2025, it is estimated that nan manufacture will require astir 800,000 labor to meet nan needs of 5 cardinal tourists. This underscores nan urgent request for broad training programmes that tin quickly and efficiently hole a skilled workforce.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, a starring acquisition institution dedicated to nan improvement of Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, has taken proactive steps to reside this request by launching a nationwide franchise training program. This programme, successful collaboration pinch 35 backstage and authorities training institutions crossed Sri Lanka, is designed to connection skills improvement opportunities to individuals from underprivileged backgrounds, peculiarly those from families receiving income support.

The Hotel Operations Multitasker Program

At nan bosom of this training inaugural is nan ‘Hotel Operations Multitasker Program’, which provides participants pinch an NVQ Level 3 qualification approved by nan Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission. This qualification is highly recognised successful Sri Lanka’s tourism assemblage and equips individuals pinch basal hospitality skills required for entry-level positions successful hotels, guesthouses, and different tourism-related establishments.

The programme is system arsenic a 360-hour people that covers a wide scope of edifice operations, from beforehand agency guidance to housekeeping, nutrient and beverage services, and customer service. This wide attack ensures that graduates are well-rounded and adaptable, capable to execute a assortment of tasks crossed different departments wrong a hotel. This elasticity is peculiarly important successful smaller establishments wherever multitasking is simply a captious skill.

What sets this programme isolated is its attraction connected providing some theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on experience. In summation to classroom-based instruction, students are besides required to acquisition on-the-job training successful real-world edifice environments. This operation of learning ensures that participants not only understand nan principles of hospitality but besides cognize really to use them successful a master setting.

Empowering Low-Income Families

One of nan astir impactful aspects of this training programme is its attraction connected empowering individuals from low-income families. The programme is specifically designed for members of families that are presently receiving income support done nan government’s Samurdhi Development programme. The Samurdhi strategy intends to supply financial assistance to Sri Lanka’s poorest families, and nan collaboration betwixt SLITHM and nan Department of Samurdhi Development allows for a seamless modulation from use support to self-sufficiency done accomplishment development.

By offering free training to eligible participants, this inaugural helps break nan rhythm of poverty. Education and accomplishment improvement are often considered nan champion devices for escaping poverty, and done this programme, low-income families are fixed nan opportunity to unafraid unchangeable employment successful nan hospitality sector. With nan hospitality industry’s accelerated growth, individuals trained done this programme will beryllium well-positioned to find jobs and unafraid a sustainable income, starring to improved surviving standards and economical mobility.

This inaugural besides helps to foster societal inclusion by providing opportunities to those who mightiness different beryllium near retired of nan economical benefits of nan tourism boom. By training individuals from agrarian and disadvantaged areas, nan programme ensures that each segments of nan organization tin use from Sri Lanka’s increasing tourism economy.

Nationwide Reach and Collaboration

The franchise exemplary that SLITHM has adopted for this training programme is an important innovation. Rather than centralising each training astatine 1 aliases 2 locations, SLITHM has collaborated pinch 35 backstage and state-run training institutions crossed nan country. These partner institutions are located successful various regions, including agrarian and underserved areas, ensuring that nan programme is accessible to a divers group of people.

This decentralised attack is cardinal to reaching a wide demographic, including younker from agrarian villages, women, and different marginalised groups who mightiness look challenges successful accessing training successful municipality areas. By providing training locally, SLITHM has made it imaginable for individuals from crossed nan state to participate without needing to recreation to nan capital, Colombo, aliases different awesome cities.

Furthermore, SLITHM is moving intimately pinch hotels and different businesses successful nan tourism assemblage to connection on-the-job training and employment opportunities for graduates. By establishing partnerships pinch hotels successful cardinal tourer destinations, SLITHM is ensuring that graduates of nan programme person entree to real-world activity acquisition and are fresh to subordinate nan workforce arsenic soon arsenic they complete their training.

A Sustainable Path to Economic Independence

The semipermanent benefits of this programme widen acold beyond contiguous employment. By equipping individuals pinch hospitality skills, SLITHM is contributing to nan improvement of a sustainable workforce that tin support Sri Lanka’s tourism manufacture for years to come. Moreover, by focusing connected low-income families, nan programme is helping to break nan intergenerational rhythm of poorness and providing a pathway for individuals to execute economical independency and societal mobility.

This programme aligns pinch broader nationalist goals of reducing poverty, expanding employment, and fostering inclusive growth. As Sri Lanka continues to look arsenic a starring tourer destination successful South Asia, initiatives for illustration nan Hotel Operations Multitasker Program are basal for ensuring that nan benefits of tourism are felt by each members of society, peculiarly those who request it nan most.

Conclusion

An important measurement successful creating a knowledgeable, divers workforce for Sri Lanka’s quickly expanding tourism assemblage is nan preamble of SLITHM’s franchise training programme. The programme provides a typical chance for group from low-income families to get nan skills required to onshore steady, fulfilling jobs successful nan hospitality manufacture by emphasising education, accomplishment development, and empowerment. Programs for illustration this are basal to ensuring that Sri Lanka’s tourism roar benefits everyone, peculiarly those who are astir successful request of economical opportunities, arsenic nan state useful towards its tourism goals.

SLITHM’s franchise training programme is expected to beryllium a important facet successful determining nan guidance of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, pinch 20,000 edifice multitasker graduates targeted successful nan programme’s first phase.

[Image Source: Sri Lanka Official Tourism Website]