The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) said it is investigating whether there are any legal impediments to the repatriation of Sri Lankan workers using the current assets of Rs. 14 billion accumulated by the Bureau of Foreign Employment. The committee made this observation when it met recently under the chairmanship of MP Prof. Charitha Herath, to examine the report of the special audit to study the current situation in the field of foreign employment. The Committee has instructed the Bureau of Foreign Employment officials to look into the possibility of using the funds held by the SLBFE to repatriate migrant workers affected by the COVID disaster. The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Kamal Ratwatte has said that there is no impediment to bringing in foreign workers registered with the Bureau using their funds. “The Bureau has already requested that 34,721 workers who lost their jobs due to falling oil prices in the Middle East and the COVID disaster be repatriated,” he stated during the COPE meeting. The COPE Chairman also pointed out the need for the Bureau to create a suitable model to look into the repatriation of migrant workers at a time when negotiations are underway to reopen the country in the face of the COVID epidemic and the airport is already open. Meanwhile, the COPE focused on the process of implementing the training courses required for foreign employment by the Bureau of Foreign Employment as well as by the institutions under the various Ministries such as the National Apprenticeship Cooperative Training Authority (NAITA) and the National Vocational Training Authority. The Committee recommended that these training courses be conducted by the Ceylon Youth Corps and the Bureau of Foreign Employment. The COPE Committee stated that a formal methodology for identifying training needs should be developed in line with the current employment demand and that the supply process should be streamlined according to the new job market and that an action plan for the next five years should be prepared and submitted.