National IT BPM Workforce Survey
The "National IT BPM Workforce Survey" is a significant project initiated by the government of Sri Lanka in 2021, aimed at comprehensively understanding and addressing the workforce needs in the Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Management (BPM) industry. The most recent survey on this subject was conducted by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in 2019, and since then, there has been a lack of up-to-date data regarding the IT-BPM workforce in the country.
The motivation for starting this project stems from the government's commitment to fostering a robust and sustainable IT and BPM industry in Sri Lanka. With a goal of establishing a workforce of 300,000 skilled professionals, it is imperative to have accurate insights into industry needs, both current and future, taking into account evolving technologies.
The project's primary objectives revolve around gaining a clear understanding of the supply of employable IT BPM workforce in comparison to the current and projected demand within the industry. The survey targets various respondent categories, including IT companies (ranging from startups to large-scale organizations), BPM industry organizations, non-IT private sector entities employing IT professionals, public sector bodies, and IT training organizations such as universities and technical colleges.
The scope of the project encompasses several critical areas, including a global overview of the IT and BPM workforce, an analysis of the current workforce composition by sub-sector, geography, and industry trends, an assessment of the demand for IT and BPM workforce, and a detailed examination of the supply of this workforce, categorized by diversity and geography, including provincial and district-wise distribution. The project also aims to identify the demand-supply gap, highlighting any disparities between the industry's workforce needs and the available talent pool.
Key stakeholders and partners involved in this project include IT industry associations, as well as other significant players in the IT and BPM sectors. The target audience for the survey findings includes the IT industry itself, academia, training organizations, and government bodies.
This project follows a series of five previous surveys conducted in 2004, 2006, 2010, 2013, and 2018. In 2022, procurement was initiated to conduct the 2022 survey, but it had to be halted due to budget constraints. Subsequently, procurement was re-initiated in 2023, and the process is currently ongoing.
The expected outcomes of the National IT BPM Workforce Survey are multifaceted. Firstly, it aims to identify the specific skills and competencies required by the ICT industry. Additionally, the project intends to document the supply of the ICT workforce from all relevant sources, including universities and training institutions. It also seeks to identify future workforce requirements by analyzing local and global industry trends. By conducting a global market analysis, the project hopes to determine the global demand for ICT professionals and gather insights from successful countries supplying ICT talent worldwide.
Local aspects of the survey include an overview of the ICT workforce, workforce composition by sector, growth trends, local demand for ICT professionals, the supply of ICT talent, and the gender balance within the industry. Moreover, the project will examine the demand-supply gap and provide insights into potential future ICT job roles in demand.