“There is an encouraging demand for Sri Lankan labour in the world as we are reputed to have hard-working people,” he said adding that the number of expatriate workers is increasing rapidly.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a provincial office and training centre in Vavuniya which is the 27th branch opened by the Bureau.

There are over 1.8 million expatriate workers employed mostly in the Middle East as domestic aids. The Bureau is encouraging people to have a proper training before they leave for foreign jobs. The number of domestic labourers will be minimized under this scheme. They will be sent after training at the Bureau, quoting the secretary, Daily News reported.

With the war ending the youth in Vavuniya are keen on jobs - both local and foreign, stated Vavuniya Mayor S. N. J. Nathan.

There are many bogus agents in the region who deceive innocent foreign job seekers. We face financial problems when looking for foreign jobs. We also face problems when going to Colombo. It is also easy to approach this office and verify the situation, quoting the Mayor, Daily News reported.