The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The government has released Tk 10 crore recently for capacity building of workers and mid-level management personnel in the readymade garment sector through intensive training.

The move is to enhance competitiveness of Bangladesh's Readymade Garment (RMG) industry in the global market and meet the requirements of compliance set by the international market players.

The government allocated Tk 20 crore in the fiscal budget of 2007-08 of which Tk 10 crore was released last month. The rest will be released after review of the performance of the project.

Earlier, in 2004-05 the government allocated Tk 20 crore to train the RMG workers threatened with retrenchment in the wake of abolition of the global quota system from December 31, 2004.

As Bangladesh's RMG industry did not face any problem in the post-multi fibre arrangement era and none of the workers lost their job following the abolition of quota system, the Tk 20 crore fund remained unutilised till FY 2006-07.

Later, following a Commerce Ministry proposal the government changed the head of the fund in the 2007-08 budget and allocated it for skill development of RMG workers.

The Ministry of Commerce will implement the skill development programme through the Export Promotion Bureau. The programme will be implemented with the money, which will be obtained as interest of Tk 10 crore to be deposited to a commercial bank.

Each year nearly 2,500 workers and mid level officials will get training which is likely to begin next month.

A committee headed by Director General (Textile) of EPB will run the training programme. Other members of the committee are Deputy Chief of Textile Cell of Ministry of Commerce, representatives from Department of Labour, Bangladesh Tant Board, BEPZA, BGMEA, BKMEA and Director (Textile) of EPB.

Sources said the training programmes will be held in some government and private sector training centres including the BGMEA Fashion Institute. The committee will request the BGMEA and the BKMEA to send the list of garment factories and interested workers for the training programme.

President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwarul Islam Chowdhury Parvez welcomed the government decision to release fund for training of RMG employees and said there is no alternative to skilled workers and mid management and infrastructure development for the economic growth of the country.

He said business is moving very fast. "If Bangladesh's RMG industry is not competitive, buyers will look for other destinations."

Parvez called for the introduction of diploma courses on apparel industry in the educational institutes for the mid level management personnel, using of government and private training centres to develop skill of workers and public-private joint venture for establishment of fashion institutes across the country.

President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Huq yesterday told this correspondent that delayed starting of the training programme is a good example of bureaucratic red tap in the government.

He said the government should implement the programme through BGMEA and the BKMEA for better utilisation of the fund.