The Integrated Guidance and Referral System- referred to as the IGRS was launched this week (15/07/2023) under the auspices of the Hon. Minister Manusha Nanyakkara, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment during the opening ceremony of the GLOCAL Fair 2023, held in Jaffna.

Representatives from the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), UN organizations, academic institutions and civil society organizations attended the launch of the IGRS which coincided with the GLOCAL Fair 2023.

The Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment (MoL&FE) and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) in coordination with the IOM steered the development of the IGRS to support the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to send qualified labour migrants to destination markets and to promote skills development amongst aspiring labour migrants in a demand-driven manner.

IGRS is an integrated ICT solution bringing all relevant stakeholders involved in foreign employment to a single platform to deliver end-to-end services including registration, screening, referral to upskilling, guiding and monitoring in a coordinated, collaborative manner.

The solution aims to assist, guide and monitor aspirant migrant workers with a credible mechanism to disseminating objective information, deliver systematic guidance and assistance, upskilling programmes to bridge the skills gap, and connect prospective foreign employers and licensed foreign employment agencies. IGRS targets over 20 occupations with 200+ subcategories that are in high demand in overseas markets.

As the first phase of this endeavour, assistance will be given to Sri Lankan public sector employees to secure foreign employment through the IGRS. As the second phase, the IGRS will be open and accessible to all aspiring labour migrants.