‘We have to develop our strategies to increase our share in world market, and one of our key strategic priorities is to move to high-end and branded fashion segments’In 2014, BGMEA had set the target of earning $50 billion from the apparel industry by 2021. The shortage of skill is at all levels of workers, supervisors and mid-management, he said, adding that presently, the industries employ about 20,000 expatriate workers to fill the vacancies with an annual expense of about $5 billion. “The $50 billion target is achievable but the sector people have to find out the ways through research how to achieve it,” BGMEA senior vice-president Faruque Hassan said. Technology upgradation, investment in factory modernisation and uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity are a must, he added. The shortage of skill workforce is a big challenge for the sector to earn $50 billion by 2021, which can be addressed through CEBAI, said Hassan. Bangladesh, however, has to make preparation to deal with the new government of US and negotiate the post-Brexit issues and also for GSP plus after the graduation to a middle-income country. “We have to develop our strategies to increase our share in world market, and one of our key strategic priorities is to move to high-end and branded fashion segments,” said Hassan. Around 79% of the export items are concentrated in five basic products – trousers, t-shirts, sweaters, shirts, and jackets mostly made of cotton, he added. The challenges faced by the RMG sector are many and of different types which need interventions through the use of new technology and knowledge, i.e. updated information, in-depth studies, research and training, said Viyellatex Group CEO David Hasanat. Terming CEBAI a repository of knowledge on apparels for the whole world, Hasanat said it would be a world-class institution focusing on research, training and information on RMG. The CEBAI will have to carry out research on matters relating to apparels and work on providing consultancy services, conducting training-need assessments (TNA) of RMG factories, harmonising standard and the training being conducted under various donor funding. In 2014, BGMEA launched the Center of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry (CEBAI) to improve productivity through research and development. The CEBAI is designed to establish a replicable industry-driven training and support-service model for Bangladesh garment sector.
The sector lacks 25% skilled labour while currently, it employes about 4.4 million people, of which 80% are women mostly from rural areas.
At present, about 20,000 expatriate workers from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and other countries are employed in the apparel sector.
The RMG makers came up with the remarks at a roundtable on “$50 billion export target and the role of Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry (CEBAI)’’ held in the capital yesterday.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in collaboration with ILO and CEBAI jointly organised the discussion to hear about the role and ways from the experts to achieve the target.
Atiqul Islam, former BGMEA president, moderated the session.
“The shortage of skilled hands is a major challenge which adversely affects the efficiency, quality and productivity of the industry. The RMG industry faced a shortage of about 25% of the total skilled individuals required to efficiently run the industry,” said KM Rezaul Hasanat David, chairman and CEO of Viyellatex group.
