February 3, 2020
Center to provide employment opportunities, resource availability, and upskilling of local talent
HCL to encourage the growth of Sri Lanka’s knowledge services industry through capacity building
BOI, HCL will partner with local ICT and engineering institutions on training and development
The center will offer support on integration, system infrastructure, and digital process operations
Global technology leader from India, HCL Technologies, signed an agreement with Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI), announcing plans to establish a global delivery center in the city of Colombo, as per an official release from the company on February 3. The new center will benefit both the region and HCL with increased employment opportunities, resource availability, and scope for upskilling locally-sourced talent, marking the IT giant’s entry into the new market.
India-based IT services firms such as HCL have prioritised on increasing their global presence across different relevant industries and geographies, with the entry into Sri Lanka forwarding the cause. HCL intends to utilise this delivery center in rolling out its business and development strategy in Sri Lanka, as it will play an important role in employment generation and capacity building initiatives.
Through effective upskilling programs and opportunities, the company will facilitate the growth of Sri Lanka’s knowledge services industry. For example, implementation of the ‘Work-Integrated Education Program’ has been made possible through a collaboration between the BOI of Sri Lanka and local entity, HCL Technologies Lanka. The program is designed to facilitate cooperation with local information communications technology (ICT) and engineering institutions, to support the growth, training, and development of local talent. The center will also cater to the applications and system integration services, infrastructure services, and digital process operations needs of various HCL clients around the world.
At present, India is one of the largest investors in Sri Lanka with cumulative investments of around US$1.2 billion directed towards driving infrastructure development and entrepreneurship. The establishment of this global delivery center, in addition to existing agreements on e-Governance and cybersecurity, will help in driving Sri Lanka’s local talent pool to global clients. Speaking on the partnership, BOI Director General, Champika Malalgoda acknowledged how it will enable Sri Lanka’s existing pool of talented IT professionals to deliver world-class IT solutions and services.