Cultus, AWS launch free upskilling drive to tackle Sri Lanka’s job readiness gap

Digital skilling firm Cultus, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), has launched a large-scale initiative in Sri Lanka to offer world-class cloud and Industry 4.0 courses free of charge, aiming to bridge a widening gap between academic qualifications and industry demand. 

The initiative, which includes the AWS re/Start and Cultus Job Readiness (CJR) programmes, seeks to equip local university students and unemployed youth with high-demand skills in AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

“What if I told you, even today, there are more jobs than jobseekers in the world? It is just that jobs are not related to what you are studying, or where you are studying. Jobs are where industry has demand,” Nalin Singh, Founder and Managing Director of Cultus Education, said at the launch in Colombo. 

The primary focus is to ensure that Sri Lankan youth can compete in a global market where information is abundant, but competency remains scarce.

Singh noted that while the media often highlights job losses due to Artificial Intelligence, the reality is a massive global talent shortage. 

Singh argued that the internet and AI have made classroom-based information redundant, as students can access data instantly via smartphones. 

Industry leaders globally complain that while graduates are educated, they are not job-ready. A survey of 1,200 HR heads cited by the firm revealed that 87 percent of employers believe young people lack the soft skills and practical technical competencies required for immediate employment. 

“Nobody really wants to learn for the sake of knowledge anymore; they want an outcome. What is the point of skilling people if you cannot give them the job or the entrepreneurship opportunity they came for?” Singh added. 

Cultus operates on a model where the student does not pay. Instead, costs are covered by corporates, CSR funds, or government partnerships. This “for-profit, for-impact” approach ensures the programme remains sustainable while remaining accessible to the youth who need it most.

The Sri Lankan rollout will enable local universities to adapt AWS Academy and AWS Educate programmes, providing students with a “personalized learning path.” By focusing on Industry 4.0—where curricula change every few weeks—the initiative moves away from static textbooks toward lab-based, hands-on project work.