RMG ISC was formed in the year of 2010 as Sector Working Committee (SWC) with the support of Skills Development Project (SDP) funded by ADB and SDC. Later, it was renamed as RMG and Textile Industry Skills Council (RT-ISC) to make it in line with the nomenclature used in NSDP 2011. RT-ISC has already got registered with the Joint Stock Companies to make it operational in order to achieve the mandate specified in the National Skills Development Policy (NSDP) 2011. New board of RT-ISC has been reconstituted with the members of different associations of the RMG & Textile sector.
Once ISC is operationalized with the support of SEIP, it will undertake a number of programs and initiatives that seek to improve training and employment pathways into the RMG & Textile sector.
With the financial support of SEIP, RT-ISC in collaboration with BTEB/NSDA will develop the guidelines on quality assurance for recognition of qualifications based on the learning outcomes and the guidelines which will contribute to a better understanding of learning and to reinforcing the ways in which the skills development and practice can be valued and recognized.
During the last two decades, readymade garments (RMG) have contributed significantly to growth of Bangladesh economy. It has also become the major export earner of the country. Its share of total export has risen from 65.6% in 1996 to 82.05% in 2016. To attain the $50 billion export target, which is almost double of the current level, the country must switch towards high value, skill intensive export items. This endeavour may face a new challenge arising from the lack of supply of skilled workers.
Skills development is vital for productivity and growth and, in fact, at the core of improving people’s employment outcomes. Skill mismatches are widespread in the TVET system in Bangladesh. The delivery of TVET courses is dispersed across 22 ministries, NGOs, and industry-led institutions. The absence of necessary Industry Skills Council (ISC) activities, capacity, paucity of budget for TVET, inadequate teacher training programs and lack of coordination between in-service and pre-service skills training providers of the relevant 22 ministries have weakened the TVET system.
Bangladesh has at least five plans and policies with prescriptions and implications for TVET that include the National Education Policy 2010, National Skills Development Policy 2011, the Seventh Five -Year Plan, the National Strategy for Gender Equality in TVET, Skills Vision 2016. The TVET strategies in the National Education Policy 2010 and the National Skills Development Policy 2011 are considered to be the most useful documents for skills development though there are some inconsistencies in these two policies. The prescriptions of the policies will need to be prioritized and implemented for skills development in Bangladesh.
The government and the development partners make significant investments in TVET and it is imperative that all key training providers ensure the funding is effectively and efficiently used and results in high quality outcomes for industry and students. An integrated set of performance measuring approaches may also be established with clear links to the national skills development policies.
According to the BIDS Report 2016, RMG sector will demand 3.66 million skilled workers by 2021 and 5.3 million by 2026.The analysis of survey data shows that sewing machine operators are at the top of the list in terms of current employment, existing demand, and projected future demand. The existing shortage for sewing machine operators nears 83,000 and projected demand is about 3,027,886 by 2021. The analysis also reveals that the demand for skilled employees is the highest, followed by semi-skilled, and then unskilled. Interestingly, the quality inspector (cutting, sewing, and finishing) is in second position in terms of both existing shortage (21,350) and projected demand (385,401 by 2021 and 527470 by 2026). Finishing operators (ironing et cetera) are in third position in terms of both existing shortage (14,640) and projected demand in next 5-10 years (366,417 by 2021 and 533083 by 2026). The percentage-projected demand over current employees is highest for quality controllers, at around 37%. Overall, the estimated number of existing shortages for RMG employees is 176,187 and the projected demand in the next 5 years is 54, 51,558 and in the next years is 74,50,051.
According to World Trade Organization, Bangladesh has emerged as the second largest RMG exporter in the world and in 2015-2016, earnings from this sector was over $34 billion accounting for about 86% of total export earnings. In July 2013, apparel sector has witnessed a robust growth of more than 26%.
During the last three decades, Primary Textile has come out as the major manufacturing sub- sector with a remarkable growth. The Primary Textile Sector (PTS) meets almost 95% domestic requirement of yarns & Fabrics. Besides it largely fulfils the demand of our export oriented RMG Manufacturers both in the knit & woven categories.