Empowering Youth Genaration through Skill Development Programme in Sri Lanka (Case Study of National Youth Corps Tanning Center in Sri Lanka)

Abstract

Youth are very crucial component of any country. According to central bank report, approximately 26 percent of the Sri Lankan population comprise of youth. The Ordinary Level (O/L) and Advanced Level (A/L) examinations are very competitive and they are set with high standards. Each year, about 200,000 and 90,000 students leave the school system, out of which a large number of students become school drop outs, at the O/Level and A/Level examinations, respectively. Though the dropout rates are high, the provisions taken to cater this segment through initiatives such as vocational training, is a major challenge in Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka has introduced many training programmers with the objective of reducing the number of dropouts. To enhance their personality with skill development, vocational training programmers have been implemented under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development. In the year 2002, the National Youth Corps Training Center (NYC), one of the largest government youth training institutions of that era, ushered a different orientation, by focusing on training discipline, personality development and job oriented vocational training. This paper examines the impact of skill development training programmes in empowering youth of Sri Lanka. It was found that the youth corpse center program influenced the youth in a positive way in empowering their personality, discipline and vocational training. The study was conducted through survey method. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 100 students representing 3 different youth corpse training centers in Sri Lanka.