The global maritime sector has been growing rapidly in order to meet the increasing demands of world trade. This rapid development in world trade has led to interdependency among countries, and to an increased competition among different of the logistics chains. In this context, Sri Lankan ports play a major role in connecting the sub-continental region in view of supporting the local transhipment business, and the Sri Lankan government is looking to transform the country into a strategically important economic centre by developing the island into a maritime hub. Skilled and knowledgeable personnel are among the key factors of achieving greater productivity, and thereby the attractiveness, of any logistics supply operation, making human resource development a vital requirement for the country to realise hub status. Planning for human resources, in today‟s context of the rapid advancement of technology and the emergence of concepts like globalisation, is not only concerned with hard skills but also with soft skills such as creativity, flexibility, risk attaining, innovativeness, and problem solving. Competitive knowledge and skills are needed for the labour force to become effective. The present study aimed at identifying the perceived skill requirements of Sri Lankan enterprises involved in the ports and shipping industry, and at evaluating the existing labour force characteristics against the real demands stimulated by the desire to achieve maritime hub status.

Dilrukshi, M.H.S., & Rathnayaka, I.W. (2016). Skill requirement for the realisation of maritime hub status in Sri Lanka [Extended Abstract]. In T.L. Gunaruwan (Ed.), Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Research for Transport and Logistics Industry 2016 (pp. 129-132). Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics. https://slstl.lk/r4tli-2016/