Professional Services Overview

Sri Lankan service export industry has a rapid growth with the quality service, young professionals, and state-of-the-art infrastructure facility. Sri Lanka in the higher rank in South Asia for ease doing business. Service export could be categorized into four main areas according to WTO definition

• Cross-border trade – Providing the service from one territory to the other eg: ICT/BPM, consultancy or market research reports, telemedical advice, distance training, or architectural drawings.
• Consumption abroad – Service rendered travel to the service providing country to consume the respective services.ex: tourists, students, or patients.
• Commercial presence - The service is provided within A by a locally-established affiliate, subsidiary, or representative office of a foreign-owned and — controlled company (bank, hotel group, Construction Company, etc.).
• Presence of natural persons - consultant, health worker) or employee of a service supplier (e.g. consultancy firm, hospital, construction company

Architectural, engineering, construction, irrigation, port and healthcare services that utilized indigenous and appropriate technologies within a supportive socio-political structure have brought fame to this island nation. Some of the techniques used successfully by early Sri Lankan service industrialists are not fully understood even today. This country produced the first recorded skyscraper (The Brazen Palace) as well as several of the largest brick structures in the world. The fame of Sri Lankan construction engineers spread even to other countries and the demand was such that they were engaged in constructing a lake for the King of Kashmir in the 8th century.

Today Sri Lanka has a large number of higher educational institutions including universities, technical colleges and vocational training institutes, through which over 5,000 graduates and technicians obtain degrees and diplomas in such fields as engineering, architecture, and surveying.

Professional training is normally provided through employment, principally in government institutions, for example, the Irrigation Department, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau, State Engineering Corporation, Survey Department. Fields such as architecture and computer software, have a strong supply base within established companies.

Sri Lankan experts have worked with international specialists on large construction projects such as the Bowatenna Hydro-Power Project, funded by the Asian Development Bank and Maskeliya Oya Hydro-Power Project.

Sri Lanka offers several professional services to the global market, catering to a strong and sustained growth.

International markets now recognize the high degree of intellectual and specialized expertise of Sri Lankan professionals and professional firms who could compete openly for providing strong outsourced services.