Jan 03, Colombo: Sri Lanka in the new year aims to drastically reduce the number of women migrating overseas as housemaids as a measure to minimize the social and cultural problems in society.

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) says it plans to reduce the number of women migrating as domestic aides by 80 to 90 percent by 2020.

The Bureau says it does not approve of women going overseas to work as domestic aides, especially to the Middles East although they earn billions of rupees as foreign revenue since their absence from families cause social and cultural problems in society.

The authority has launched several programs to help the female labor force to upgrade their skills and find better employment opportunities for them in specialized vocations, SLBFE Chairman Amal Senalankadhikara has said.

The authority has introduced programs to train prospective migrant workers in specialized vocations with the intention of increasing the percentage of skilled workers while discouraging unskilled workers from going abroad.

Tailor-made training courses according to the nature of jobs, countries and the requirements of the employers will be offered to train the migrant workers with specific skills.

Authorities have also made National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) level 3, compulsory for Sri Lankans seeking skilled jobs abroad.

The SLBFE is also planning to improve foreign language proficiency for overseas job seekers. They are in the process of recruiting teachers to teach languages, including foreign professionals.

According to the SLBFE Chairman, the Bureau is looking into train female workers in the hospitality, health, and sales industries.

The SLBFE has recently signed an agreement with an international company to establish an accredited nurses training school and a hospital to train health sector workers.