ABSTRACT
Since the mid-1990s the VTA has become the largest and one of the most prominent providers of vocational skills in the country, a fact also recognised by donor agencies which have regained interest in the Sri Lankan skills development system. When the tsunami hit the country in 2004, development agencies provided considerable support, not only to re-establish RVTCs but also to build new ones (USAID and EML Consultants 2005). Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Labour in 1995 and currently President of the country, has remained one of the key promoters of the VTA. Reflecting the potential to reach out to many young people in rural areas, his latest development programme suggests increasing the number of RVTCs from 357 in 2009 to 875 in 2016, and the number of students from 32,000 in 2009 to 75,000 in 2016 (Department of National Planning 2007, 151).
