Tech Giant HCL has rapidly expanded their plans to create over 1,500 new local employment opportunities for both freshers and experienced professionals, within the first 18 months of kick-starting its operations from its office in Colombo, having initially signed up with Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment to set up a 500 seat service delivery center in February this year. This move by a global ICT leader in a COVID impacted global economy highlights Sri Lanka as an emerging destination of choice for the global tech market.
Corporate Vice President of HCL Technologies, Srimathi Shivashankar said: “Amidst all these uncertainties, one thing for certain is that whatever we had committed for growth in Sri Lanka with the BOI’s support will happen as planned.” She went on to compliment the company’s mutual partnership with BOI, Sri Lanka as a showcase of their idea of ‘Relationship Beyond the Contract.'
One of India's original start-ups, founded in 1976, HCL technologies is a next generation global technology company supporting enterprises to reimagine their businesses for the digital age. With a worldwide network of R&D, innovation labs and delivery centers, and 147,000+ ‘Ideapreneurs’ working in 44 countries, HCL serves leading enterprises across key industries, including 250 of the Fortune 500 and 650 of the Global 2000.
One of the key components of HCL’s business and development strategy is to generate local employment and to provide the right skill programs to enhance the knowledge services industry in Sri Lanka. Susantha Rathnayaka, Chairman of the Board of Investment, welcomed this approach as it will create well-paid jobs in the knowledge sector while broadening the horizons of young people with the opportunity to work with world-class processes and settings. Elaborating further, he said: "What is also exciting is the fact that Sri Lanka will be open to the eyes of the Fortune 500 and the Global 2000.”
With this global partnership further strengthening Sri Lanka's reputation for hardworking, dedicated, and talented IT professionals, HCL’s entry will no doubt support the Sri Lankan IT sector’s ambitious development goals which include a revenue target of US 5Bn and an employment target of 200,000.