The current crunch is also likely to deepen by 2021, unless immediate steps are taken to develop and nurture a pool of talent by rigorously implementing structured training and necessary curriculum modifications, say management experts.
“The apparel sector, especially knitting, has witnessed continuous growth over 35 percent in the last few years,” says NEA Shibly, chief executive officer (CEO) of Pro-edge, a leading management and human resources (HR) consulting house in Bangladesh. “But the sector suffers badly from a shortage of skilled manpower as demand is much higher than availability.”
“The gap has widened due to an acute shortage of high-caliber employees, especially for mid-level management,” he adds.
Around 20 years back, some tech-savvy young entrepreneurs, inspired by a group of Koreans who relocated their factories to Bangladesh, ventured into the garments business to try their luck.
“Today, the readymade garments sector is the main engine of our national economy and so, immediate attention is required to develop and groom mid- and senior-level professionals,” says M Zulfiquar Hussain, CEO of Grow n Excel, another leading management consultation organisation in Bangladesh.
“Otherwise, the shortage will be more severe in the next ten years, as yesterday's success cannot be made to face tomorrow's more dynamic and challenging situation, without offering any pragmatic solutions. The waves of change have started to roll in and the sector should address the shortfalls in talent professionally and efficiently,” he says.
“The RMG sector will require around eight lakh skilled professionals in mid-level positions by 2021 to lead the organisations,” says Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). “Currently, the sector suffers a shortfall of nearly two lakh professionals.”
"Unfortunately, experienced and qualified employees from our neighbouring countries are filling the current shortage," says Shibly.
They are around 15 percent of the mid- and senior-level professionals in the entire industry, he says.
Management practitioners say "our entrepreneurs' lack the eagerness to spend money to train and develop local talents." Inadequate technical and vocational institutions, back-dated curricula, a lack of social recognition of garment jobs, poor compensation packages and unfavourable working conditions are the main deterrents to the talent development.
Most employers are nonchalant about imparting any structured or continuously competent training programmes to employees due to business exigencies and also because they fear losing their trained employees, says Shibly.
But, Mosharraf Hussain, managing director of Standard Group, a leading RMG manufacturer, says, “The RMG sector should arrange training for its workforce to survive in the competitive world markets as market forces constantly demand efficiency. We spend around 5 percent of profits on training and development.”
Shibly says local institutes and training centres in Bangladesh are not equipped to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand for quality employees with appropriate skills, knowledge and abilities.
Recently, both BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactures and Exporters Association have taken initiatives to produce skilled workers for the sector by imparting training at as many as 31 centres.
However, this is not enough because most public and private universities do not offer any courses on RMG related subjects, says Parvez.
Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, says the government and sectoral associations should forge public-private partnerships to strengthen technical and vocational education. The government will provide infrastructure facilities and the associations will design the course curricula, based on market demands, he added.
Most organisations in the sector have failed to attract quality graduates and professionals due to poor compensation packages, dingy work environments and a lack of career path, says Hussain of Grow n Excel.
However, the Standard Group MD disagrees. He says that most young talents seem disinterested to pursue a professional career in RMG as they are under myriad pressures and challenges.
The Pro-edge CEO says the value of a 'learning organisation', where there is a culture of continuous learning and development, is the immediate solution to meeting the short supply of talent at mid-level positions because changing the national education system or the practical orientation curricula is a long and winding process.
The good news is, some organisations in the apparel sector, like Viyellatex Group, have introduced their management trainee schemes. It is also mandatory for managers at all levels to attend the management development programmes run throughout the year, says Shibly.
The owner and top management have to demonstrate full commitment and involvement along with treating the employees with dignity and respect to make the development programme a success, says M Zulfiquar Hussain.
The Daily Star, Monday, March 7, 2011
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