BUILDING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY OF LICENSED FOREIGN … · 2020. 9. 7. · Page 2 of 27 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Training Curriculum is targeted towards supporting the Licensed Foreign

TRAINING CURRICULUM

BUILDING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY OF LICENSED FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT AGENTS

Ministry of Foreign Employment2017

Page 2 of 27

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Training Curriculum is targeted towards supporting the Licensed Foreign Employment

Agents (LFEA) in Sri Lanka and aims to build their professional capacities which will assist in

enhancing the potential to promote safe migration and implement the Code of Ethical

Conduct for LFEA’s.

Development of the Training Curriculum was carried out by a team of consultants through a

comprehensive desk review of local and international practices and training material available

in labour sending countries and in consultation with recruitment agents and officials of SLBFE.

The course outline was analysed by an expert group consisting of labour migration industry

experts from the government, recruitment agencies, international organizations and civil

society. Based on the views of the expert group, the training curriculum was further reviewed

through a local consultative process.

IOM wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign

Employment and the staff of the Ministry for direction and contribution in this programme.

Further, appreciation is extended to staff of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, for

the time and efforts dedicated towards gathering background information to analyse the

status of the recruitment industry and how it can be further capacitated.

The IOM also wishes to thank recruitment agencies, international organizations and civil

society for regularly meeting to review and contributing to the development of this

curriculum through the expert group.

IOM also acknowledges and thanks Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) for funding the

project through the International Labour Organization and for its consistent advice and

support.

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SECRETARY’S MESSAGE

I am very pleased to send a message to the publication of Training curriculum for training of

Licensed Foreign Employment Agencies in Sri Lanka and the Training of Trainers Manual.

This Training curriculum has been developed to educate the licensed foreign employment

agents on the global, regional and national perspectives towards international labour

migration and to increase their knowledge with the purpose of enhancing professionalism in

the recruitment industry in Sri Lanka. The training of Licensed Foreign Employment Agents

using this curriculum aims to equip them with required knowledge, skills and attitude to

function effectively as responsible and ethical recruiters in the recruitment industry which

needs to fulfill our ultimate goal of protection of the rights of migrant workers.

The impact of training does not only depend on the content of the training curriculum that is

delivered, it also depends on the training methodology and the approach of the trainers that

is used. Hence, the TOT Manual was prepared as a guide to support the trainers who will

provide training to all licensed foreign employment agents and their staff as qualified trainers

is a precondition for the success of any training course.

This documents were developed by an expert team to meet the specific needs of the target

group and I believe that the training curriculum and TOT manual will make the intended

changes.

I take this opportunity to convey my gratitude to the expert group, International Organization

for Migration for their invaluable support to the Ministry of Foreign Employment to develop

these documents and the International Labour Organization and the Swiss Development

Cooperation for their continuous technical and financial support to develop these important

products under the safe migration project.

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EXPERT GROUP MEMBERS

This was prepared by members of the expert group and details are as follows:

1. Ms. Padmini Ratnayake

Consultant

2. Mr. Mangala Randeniya

Deputy General Manager- Training

Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

3. Mr. Vajira Perera

Director Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission

4. Ms. Srimal Kahathuduwa

Manager- Licensee


5. Mr. Keerthi Muthukumarane

Deputy General Manager – Legal


6. Mr. M.F.M Arshad

Director (SLBFE) / Recruitment Agency Representative

7. Mr. M.F.M Fanoor

Director (SLBFE) / Recruitment Agency Representative

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8. Ms. Madushi Lankasara

National Programme Manager

Swiss Development Cooperation (Sri Lanka)

9. Ms. Swairee Rupasinghe

National Project Coordinator

International Labour Organization (Sri Lanka)

10. Mr. Yu Hwa Lee

Senior Executive Manager

Caritas SEDEC/ Civil Society Representative

11. Mr. Shantha Kulasekera

Project Manager

Migration Governance

International Organization for Migration

12. Ms. Sashini Gomez

Focal Point- National Labour Migration

Migration Governance

International Organization for Migration

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 2

SECRETARY’S MESSAGE ........................................................................................................................... 3

EXPERT GROUP MEMBERS ...................................................................................................................... 4

COURSE OUTLINE .................................................................................................................................... 7

CURRICULUM OUTLINE/PROGRAMME OUTLINE ................................................................................... 9

Module One: Introduction to Labour Migration ........................................................................................... 9

Module Two: International Dimensions of Labour Migration ..................................................................... 10

Module Three: Institutional, Legislative and Regulatory Framework in the Sri Lankan Context of Labour

Migration ............................................................................................................................... 11

Module Four: Safe and Regular Migration (Sri Lankan Context) ................................................................. 12

Module Five: Introduction to Management, Principles of Human Resource Management and Ethical

Recruitment .......................................................................................................................... 13

Module Six: Role of LFEA and Code of Ethical Conduct of Licensed Foreign Employment Agents ........... 14

Module Seven: Emerging Challenges and Issues of Labour Migration .......................................................... 16

Module Eight: Building Entrepreneur Skills .................................................................................................. 17

Module Nine: Productivity of the Agency and Staff (Green Concept) ......................................................... 18

Module Ten: Soft skills (Leadership, Decision Making, Communication, Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills,

Positive Attitude and Flexibility) ........................................................................................... 19

Module Eleven: Basic Accounting and Effective Maintenance of Documents ................................................ 20

Module Twelve: Labour Market Requirements and In-Demand Occupations (Local and Overseas) .............. 21

Module Thirteen: Customer Counselling and Re-integration ............................................................................ 22

Module Fourteen:Good Practices of LFEAs ....................................................................................................... 23

Module Fifteen: Closing Session ...................................................................................................................... 24

ASSESSMENT MECHANISM ................................................................................................................... 25

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COURSE OUTLINE

Training Curriculum for Licensed Foreign Employment Agents

a) Objectives of the programme:

To enhance the professional capacity of Licensed Foreign Employment

Agents (LFEA)

To upgrade their status in the recruitment industry

To provide safe and effective services to the migrant workers (employees)

while complying with legal frameworks

To promote compliance with the Code of Ethical Conduct among Licensed

Foreign Employment Agents

b) Target group: Licensed Foreign Employment Agents and/or their nominated executives and

appropriate staff

c) Benefits to the participants: i. A recognized certificate is issued by the SLBFE upon completion of the course

ii. Enhance professional competencies to be a professional recruiter in the industry

iii. Recognition for the recruitment agency/compliance with requirements for registration/evaluation by the SLBFE

iv. Acquire knowledge on a wide spectrum of areas on labour migration and associated subjects

v. Provide efficient services and strengthen safe migration in the recruitment process of foreign employment

d) Duration of the programme: 50 learning hours – 3 hours per day/2 days per week (weekdays)

e) Medium of instruction: Sinhala and Tamil (Programmes to be conducted in parallel

f) Mode of delivery and evaluation:

Lectures and tutorials;

Practical assessment, group discussions on case studies, practical

application of learning;

Course-end written examination (Multiple Choice Questions) Pass level

50% and above – course participation certificate for below 50% scorers;

80% attendance mandatory to sit course-end examination.

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g) Teaching faculty:

Course will be conducted by carefully selected and trained trainers who have

successfully completed the Training of Trainers (ToT) programme at TVEC

registered training institutions.

h) Course Content:

1. Introduction to labour migration

2. International dimension of labour migration

3. Institutional, legislative and regulatory framework in the Sri Lankan context

of labour migration.

4. Safe and Regular Migration (Sri Lankan Context)

5. Introduction to Management, Principles of Human Resource Management

and Ethical Recruitment

6. Role of LFEA, Code of Ethical Conduct of Licensed Foreign Employment

Agents

7. Emerging challenges and issues of labour migration

8. Building entrepreneurial skills

9. Productivity of agency and staff (green concept)

10. Soft skills (leadership, decision making, communication, team work,

interpersonal skills, positive attitude, flexibility etc.)

11. Basic accounting and effective maintenance of documents/records

12. Labour market requirements and demanding occupations (local and

overseas)

13. Customer counselling and reintegration

14. Good Practices of LFEAs

15. Closing session

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CURRICULUM OUTLINE/PROGRAMME OUTLINE

Module One: Introduction to Labour Migration

Module Number: 01

Learning outcome of the module:

At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to understand the

importance of labour mobility, trends including feminization of labour, issues and responses

of global & regional migration with special focus on women and issues they face in the

migration cycle, costs and benefits arising from migration and how it links with the

development process.

Topics to Cover Reference Materials

What is labour migration? history of labour migration Guidelines of Labour Migration

Benefits and advantages of labour migration with a view

to value addition and current trends

Cost benefit analysis, past

statistics, cases in the past,

lessons learnt

Do’s and Don’ts to adhere to in terms of labour migration List of Do’s and Don’ts in the

form of an introduction

Potential improvements in Labour Migration that could

be anticipated in the future

Relevant statistics

Related background knowledge expected from the participants:

Guidelines, rules and regulations pertaining to labour migration shall be referred to by each

participant prior to the commencement of this module.

Target time for the module:

0.5 hours of learning

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Module Two: International Dimensions of Labour Migration

Module Number: 02



importance of adhering to and compliance with the key conventions with respect to labour

migration, and understand the Conventions and Principles relating to it and its importance for

the protection of the rights of the migrant worker.


What are the key Conventions of labour migration Four key International

Conventions related to labour

migration

Ratification status of the Conventions related to migrant

employment

-

Provisions to protect rights and welfare of migrant

employment and immunities for migrant employees

-

Geographical perspectives of countries receiving

migration for employment

International maps, PESTEL

(Political, Environmental,

Social, Technological,

Economical & Legal) aspects

Health regulations of labour migration WHO requirements and

guidelines

Deportation management Laws of respective countries


Guidelines, rules, regulations pertaining to International Agreements & Conventions and the

respective websites shall be referred by each participant prior to the commencement of this

module.


2 hours of learning

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Module Three: Institutional, Legislative and Regulatory Framework in the Sri Lankan Context of Labour Migration

Module Number: 03



legal, institutional and policy framework in Sri Lanka pertaining to Labour Migration, including

standards, policies, procedures & statutory conditions stipulated by SLBFE, Ministry of Foreign

Employment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the role of SLBFE.

Topics to Cover Reference materials

National laws on Labour Migration -

Rules and Regulations

The Constitution of Sri Lanka, SLBFE Act,

Immigration & Emigration Act, Consular Act

National policies on Labour

Migration

National Policies (Return & Reintegration Sub-

Policy, National Policy on Migrant Health)

Institutional framework on Labour

Migration

Materials on Ministry of Foreign Employment,

SLBFE, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Consular

Division), Labour sections of the Diplomatic

Missions, Department of Immigration & Emigration

Work ethics and good practices in

migration (processes and

procedures for labour migration in

three key stages viz. pre-departure,

in-service, post-arrival [re-

integration])

Do’s and Don’ts of work environment, good

working practices, related websites, materials

published by SLBFE

Regulatory functions of the SLBFE in

the recruitment industry

Prosecutions and related legal cases on foreign

employment

Complaint management, migrant

employee welfare scheme,

insurance

-


Court proceedings, standards, national policies, the websites of SLBFE, Department of

Immigration & Emigration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be referred by each participant

prior to the commencement of this module.


4 hours of learning

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Module Four: Safe and Regular Migration (Sri Lankan Context)

Module Number: 04


After completion of this module participants should be able to understand the concepts and

practical aspects of safe labour migration at each stage of the migration cycle.


What is safe labour migration? -The concepts and

practical aspects of safe labour migration

Laws, rules and regulations, standard

terms of employment and related

contracts of labour migration

Planning migration - key stages of the labour

migration process

Planning techniques and safe labour

migration guide book

Developing a policy for safe migration for

recruitment agencies

Sample policies of other countries and

safe labour migration guide book

National Policy for Labour Migration Policies and review minutes

Develop a SWOT analysis for institutional policy

on safe migration, including for threats &

weaknesses

Any reading material for SWOT

analysis and material for practical

sessions


Migration policies of other countries (through websites), planning techniques and basics of

conducting review meetings and sessions.


3 hours of learning

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Module Five: Introduction to Management, Principles of Human Resource Management and Ethical Recruitment

Module Number: 05


After completion of this module, participants should be able to perform good HR practices for

hiring and recruitment


Basics of Management References on principles of

management

HR processes in brief; viz. selection, recruitment,

training, evaluation of employees and induction

References on principles of HR

with a view to recruitment for

overseas employment

Development of job description, duty list and

appointment letters

Sample JD, duty lists and

appointment letters

Conducting a formal interview and recording (a practical

session – group/individual assignment)

Sample of recorded interview

outcome

Ethics of hiring/recruitment, good etiquette on

negotiation skills with local and foreign parties

Professional negotiations

Sensitivity to diversity in recruiting for overseas

employment – with respect to society as unbiased to

gender, ethnicity, religion, child protection etc.

Prepared handouts

Case studies of recruitment for overseas employment -

Conducting an interview for annual appraisal, granting

increments, promotions

-


Basics of Management, evolution of HR management from personnel management


6 hours of learning

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Module Six: Role of LFEA and Code of Ethical Conduct of Licensed Foreign Employment Agents

Module Number: 06


After completion of this module, participants should be able to perform good practices which

should be adhered to by a licensed foreign employment agent while ensuring compliance with

the code of ethical conduct as stipulated by the SLBFE.


Historical aspects of ethics and its development with

regards to psycho-social and cultural factors contributing

to and inhibiting the ethical behaviour, cognitive and

attitudinal relationship of agents

Notes on the principles of ethics and

ethical practices in business.

Introduction to the Code of Ethical Conduct, standard

practices to be adhered to by the foreign employment

agents, role of licensed recruitment agent in all key stages

of the labour migration process

Code of Ethical Conduct and SOP,

cases related to disputes between

agents and migrant workers,

international and/or national

recruitment guidelines.

SOPs of implementing the Code of Ethical Conduct SOPs

Fair competition among the agents and monitoring

mechanism to track compliance with the Code of Ethical

Conduct

Fair competition techniques &

monitoring mechanism

Registration with SLBFE and its continuous evaluation

scheme

Monitoring & evaluation guidelines,

procedure for registration issued by

the SLBFE and evaluation criteria

Sharing statistics, routine reports and other data with

SLBFE

Routine reports from the agents

Meeting with SLBFE and maintaining meeting minutes Formats for taking minutes

Advantages and benefits of compliance with the Code of

Ethical Conduct

Rewarding mechanism

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Guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Foreign Employment on Labour Migration and SLBFE

for employment agents and the SLBFE Act.



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Module Seven: Emerging Challenges and Issues of Labour Migration

Module Number: 07



various sides to a problem with regards to irregular labour migration, issues of migration,

creation of labour policy, evaluation of the ways & means of irregular migration and the

instruments available.


What is human trafficking and smuggling – push

& pull factors

National and International Law on

human smuggling & trafficking, Penal

Code amendments

Government intervention in irregular migration

and its present status in Sri Lanka

Notes on the US reports on trafficking

in persons in 2016

Drug trafficking and other smuggling while

travelling overseas, child labour and forced

Labour

International Conventions, Labour

Standards, SLBFE Act, Customs

procedures, Dangerous Drug Control

Board

Role of agents, trafficking of unauthorized flora

& fauna and other unauthorized goods

Customs procedures, Wildlife and

Forest Department guidelines

Money laundering and trafficking currencies Customs procedures, Central Bank

guidelines

Actions against violators of above laws Penalties, fines, imprisonments


Customs procedures, SLBFE Act and Penal Code Amendments


1.5 hours

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Module Eight: Building Entrepreneur Skills

Module Number: 08


After completion of this module, participants should be able to operate a business entity or

employment agency in a professional manner.


What is entrepreneurship? Importance of

entrepreneurship for a foreign employment agency

Become an entrepreneur

Effective handling and utilization of physical, human and

financial resources

Utilization of resources

Basic costing and one costing technique ABC costing

Preparation of business plans, proposals, financial

proposals and contracts

Sample of a business plan

Basic Marketing principles, the 4Ps Principles of Marketing - Kotler

Customer satisfaction and measurement of satisfaction Market survey tools

Competition and fair competition

As an entrepreneur, requirements (statutory & optional)

to be complied with in order to open an agency

SLBFE registration/license

How to build good relationship and interpersonal skills of

an agency


Entrepreneurship, customer satisfaction techniques



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Module Nine: Productivity of the Agency and Staff (Green Concept)

Module Number: 09


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to measure and

improve the overall productivity of the agency, increase output and ensure to protect the

environment.


What is productivity? Labour productivity Materials on productivity

Measurement of labour productivity Simple calculations

Greener productivity; environment protection, quality,

the 5S system, competitive advantage, good

housekeeping practices, eco mapping, sustainable

development, benchmarking, brainstorming, cause &

effect technique and check lists

Seven tools of Quality Control,

www.apo-tokyo.org

Personal grooming, dress code and personal etiquette -


Tools of quality, service quality and SWOT analysis


3 hours of learning

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Module Ten: Soft skills (Leadership, Decision Making, Communication, Teamwork, Interpersonal Skills, Positive Attitude and Flexibility)

Module Number: 10


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to understand and

practice effective communication, high professionalism and teamwork in a positive approach


Communication process, effective communication and its

benefits

Materials on communication

Basic computing: Office package, e-mail usage, Skype,

web based systems

-

What is professionalism? Heads of agencies as leaders -

How to function as a team? Practices of teamwork -

Positive thinking and its advantages Materials on positive thinking


Types of communication, advantages of each type, methods of problem solving through

teamwork, use of computer, e-mail and word package


6 hours of learning

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Module Eleven: Basic Accounting and Effective Maintenance of Documents

Module Number: 11


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to compute basic

costing, prepare brief Profit & Loss statements, summary of balance sheets, bank

reconciliation statements and be effective in the management of finances, in addition to

preparing budget proposals for external parties and maintenance of documents (paper &

electronic) as per the requirements of ISO standards.


Concept of Activity Based Costing Materials on costing

Preparation of P & L statements, balance sheet -

Bank statements and reconciliation -

Preparation of Budget Proposals -

Control of documents, control of records and data

(paper & electronic)

ISO 9001:2015

requirements/legal

requirements of maintaining

files for reference

Development of simple databases -


Basic arithmetical computations, background knowledge for costing, simple database

management



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Module Twelve: Labour Market Requirements and In-Demand Occupations (Local and Overseas)

Module Number: 12


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will have the awareness and

ability to understand the current labour requirements (local & different continents of the

world) and most in demand occupations with their approximate emoluments & perks.


Labour market statistics TVEC bulletin, World Bank

statistics, Central Bank reports

Most in-demand occupations with the countries SLBFE publications

Salary structures of Gulf and other countries -

International vocational standards and national

competency standards

Websites of TVEC, VTA and

NAITA


Interpretation of graphical presentations, GCC standards, other competency standards of in-

demand occupations of respective countries.


3 hours of learning

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Module Thirteen: Customer Counselling and Re-integration

Module Number: 13


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to perform

counselling required for migrant employees and returnees.


Counselling techniques Basics of counselling (including

communication skills etc.)

Career progression of returnees -

Social obligations of the Government Benefits, benevolent schemes

Families of migrant employees -


Practice in counselling, self-employment opportunities with special concern to members of

migrant employees’ families.



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Module Fourteen: Good Practices of LFEAs

Module Number: 14


At the completion of the delivery of this module, participants will be able to identify the

critical requirements needed for an effective licensed agent to contribute to the society at

large through the foreign employment sector.


Participant should view a video, PowerPoint

Presentation or pictures of success stories in different

perspectives

Video clips, pictures

Presentations and guest speeches from opinion

leaders, business leaders

Video clips

Conduct a session to critically evaluate the success

stories

Strengths and weaknesses


SWOT analysis, methods of critical evaluation


2 hours of learning

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Module Fifteen: Closing Session

Module Number: 15


This will enable the evaluation of the training and identify areas for improvement in the

future.


0.5 hours

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ASSESSMENT MECHANISM

Three hour written question paper (with MCQ & a few open-ended questions – to be decided as and

when the requirement arises) shall be conducted at the end of the programme. Question paper can

be prepared by the resource personnel who conducted classes. Question paper should be moderated

by an individual who has successfully completed the ToT programme, but not involved in teaching for

the batch they intend to moderate.

All participants must submit a Project Report consisting of a minimum of 2000 words and the period

given for the project is two weeks from the point of approval given for the project topic. Pass mark for

successful completion of the programme is 70% and a minimum of 80% attendance is required for a

participant to register for the final written examination.

Written paper and the project report will be equally weighted for the final marks.

Page 26 of 27

Following assessment matrix may be used as a guide to assess the student.

Assessment Matrix – Module 01 to 14

Mo

du

le N

o.

Activity to be Performed

Wri

tte

n T

est

(3

hrs

)

Pra

ctic

al T

est

(A

ssig

nm

en

t)

Ob

serv

atio

n m

ade

at

a

sele

cted

age

ncy

Ora

l qu

est

ion

ing

wh

ile

de

live

rin

g le

sso

ns

Vid

eo P

rese

nta

tio

n

(Ass

ign

me

nt)

Cas

e S

tud

ies

(Ass

ign

me

nt)

Ro

le P

lay

(Ass

ign

me

nt)

01 Introduction to labour migration (familiarization of labour,

challenges in women migration) √ - - √ - - √

02 International context of labour migration √ - - √ - √ √

03 Institutional, legislative and regulatory framework in the

context of labour migration, standards, policies, procedures

and statutory conditions related to labour migration

stipulated by SLBFE, Ministry of Foreign

Affairs/Employment

√ - √ √ - √ -

04 Safe and Regular Migration (Sri Lankan Context) - √ √ - - - √

05 Introduction to Management and principles of Human

Resource Management and ethical recruitment √ - √ √ - √ -

06 Role of LFEA, Code of Ethical Conduct of Licensed Foreign

Employment Agents √ √ √ √ - √ -

07 Emerging challenges and issues of labour migration - - - √ - √ -

08 Building Entrepreneur skills √ √ √ √ - √ -

09 Productivity of agency and staff, green concept √ - √ √ - √ -

10 Soft skills (leadership, decision making, communication,

team work, interpersonal skills, positive attitude, flexibility

etc.)

- √ √ √ - √ -

11 Basic accounting for licensed agents and effective

maintenance of documents √ √ √ √ - √ -

12 Labour market requirements, demanding occupations in

local and overseas - - - - - √ -

13 Customer counselling and reintegration - - √ √ - √ √

14 Good Practices of LFEAs - √ √ √ √ - √

Developed under the project ‘Promoting Ethical Conduct and Professionalizing the Recruitment Industry in Sri Lanka’

Implemented by

A joint project supported by