Sri Lanka held discussions with a delegation from the Ministry of Construction and Housing of Israel on Tuesday (2) in order to provide 20, 000 construction sector job opportunities in Israel, Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment told The Daily Morning Business yesterday (3).     

Accordingly, the discussions have taken place on the testing process prior to the provision of job opportunities for the Sri Lankans in the said sector. According to the Labour Ministry of Sri Lanka, the testing process is to be conducted in collaboration with the Israel Builders Association.

Reuters recently reported that Israeli Construction and Housing Ministry Director General Yehuda Morgenstern told the Calcalist Financial Daily that a plan to increase the quota of foreign construction workers to 70,000 from 50,000 would be approved by its Government in the coming days to boost its construction sector which has been due to Hamas attacks in October 2023.  

Morgenstern has further said that the quota in November 2023 was boosted to 50,000 from 30,000 in order to contribute to the housing sector which is suffering from labour shortage as 80,000 Palestinian construction workers were barred from entering Israel as a result of the recent clashes. 

Moreover, in the first quarter this year, around 10, 000 workers are expected to arrive from China, India, Sri Lanka and Moldova.

Senior Director of the Strategy and Policy Department Michal Aran and Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Construction and Housing of Israel Nessi Angel Katz participated in the discussions with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment officials. 

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said that 100 Sri Lankans have left for the Republic of Korea  as the first batch to leave in 2024, employed in the manufacturing sector.