Abstract:
The construction industry, being predominantly labour intensive, heavily relies on the adequate
supply of workforce and their skills. With the speedy growth of Sri Lankan construction industry after
the ethnic war, demand for skilled workforce has been increased. The overall aim of this research is
to analyse the present situation of skilled labourers in Sri Lankan building construction industry with
respect to skill trades, in order to address the timely need of the present and future context of
the industry.
The research was conducted using a questionnaire surveys among project managers in the building
construction industry. The questionnaire survey was carried out to identify the significant skill trades
and to investigate the current status of the skills and future required skills. Further, the questionnaire
used to identify the skill shortage in building construction industry.
Skills related to service installation was identified as significant as the skills related to structural
construction. However, the current status of the most of the skill trades is that these are not sufficient
to fulfil the demand of the industry, except for bricklaying and plastering. The future supply of the
skills also indicated an unbalanced level in likely demand and likely supply of skills. Hence, the
government, industry and construction companies are having a responsibility of addressing the
shortfall. It is also important to consider more training schemes and attractive remunerations with
benefits to create a positive attitude towards the building construction industry among migrants and
young generation in Sri Lanka.
