Not enough students have enrolled themselves to be trained at the Sri Lanka-Korea National Vocational Training Institute in Orugodawatta although a trained technician is entitled to a salary of Rs.1.2 million in South Korea, Assistant Director Bhathia Amaranath said.
All the full-time courses at the institute, including this course, are conducted free of cost.
He told the media that because of the society’s perception towards welders and the stigma that only those with a low level of education move to such a profession, even parents do not encourage their children to pursue such a course.
The Assistant Director says his institution strongly rejects this ideology and that 150 professionally qualified people who completed the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ 5) will be sent to South Korea in the next few days.
The South Korean companies have agreed that the employees will be given a salary of Rs.1.2 million.
In 2019, when this full-time course was launched, only 12 students have enrolled themselves while only 16 students have applied for the course this year.