The views were expressed by the senior industry experts, and garment industry representatives from Artistic Apparels Pvt. Ltd., Galaxy Knitwear Company Pvt. Ltd., Motif Tex Style, Soorty Enterprises Pvt.
Ltd., and Synthetic Fiber Development and Textile Institute (SFDAC) at the event held at Pak-Korean Garment Technology Institute, Karachi.
“We shall not consider training as a burden, but as a sustainable investment for growth. Need is for promoting culture of learning in this ever changing and ever improving technological era, for improvement at all levels. We have survived, and can survive and compete in the international market, amid challenges, through an efficient work force and integrated systems
We have not been able to fully exploit the excellent growth prospects in the garment industry, where value addition to cotton can perform miracles, when value addition is hundreds of times the raw product. We appreciate the UNDP for supporting sustainable initiatives like PEPGI Project, which help improve systems and lives of the workers in the garment industry,” the industry representatives said.
Ms. Maham Abbasi, Principal, Pakistan Readymade Garments Technical Training Institute (PRGTTI), while representing PEPGI project responsible party PRGMEA said, “Learning and personal up-gradation never stop at any stage of life. Learning should be a continuous process for continuous development.
We expect that successful completion of PEPGI’s 2nd ToT module, a 45 days training programme, which comprehensively covered processes and systems of apparel manufacturing and management, and was conducted by international and national consultants, it will help improve efficiency and productivity in the garment industry.
While reflecting upon the PEPGI background, Mr. Syed Muhammad Nawab, National Project Manager, PEPGI Project, added that PEPGI Project, an initiative of UNDP, aims to work with the garment industry of Pakistan to achieve two development results: creating employment opportunities for youth and women, besides, enhancing labor productivity and on floor efficiency in the garment industry; and developing capacities of local consultancy / training service providers to train workers and middle management in the garment value chain. He lauded the efforts of other vocational training institutes, including, Pakistan Korean Garment Technology Institute (PKGTI), Pakistan Readymade Garments Technical Training Institute (PRGTTI), for their all time support and efforts towards creating and promoting learning and training opportunities for individuals and garment industry.
Representatives from garment industry, garment and textile designing and training institutes and vocational centers, participated in the ceremony.
‘Promoting Employment and Productivity in Garment Industry (PEPGI)’, a five year project (April 2012 and March 2017), is a joint initiative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF).
PEPGI is a second generation GEN PROM (Gender Promotion through Skills Development in Garment Factories) project, which started in year 2006 and ended in March 2012. It trained 16,780 workers, 605 master trainers or middle management professionals and 282 merchandisers across 55 apparel and home textile stitching units located in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.
