“The next hot spot”. This is how the McKinsey report defined the Bangladeshi readymade garments industry in 2011. As a consequence of the decreasing economic trends of the Far-East superpowers, today Bangladesh is no doubt the main productive hub for the textile sector in the world.
According to latest data published by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), currently the garment making industry is the backbone of the country’s economy: it holds a share of 82 per cent of the total national exports, which accounts for 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s GDP, with a turnover that exceeds $28 million. In this panorama, more than four million people are employed in garment manufacturing and 90 per cent of them are women.
Figures give some hints of the impact of the sector on the social fabric of Bangladesh: in order to improve the working conditions in the ready-made garment industry, it needs investments and commitment to create a better productive pattern. This is what M&J Group has made every day in its history: collaborating with local institutions and answering the international demand for higher standards in textile, the company became a tangible role model for its peers and beyond.
Along with reduction of the environmental footprint and the development of production efficiency, human resources enhancement is one of the core values of the M&J Group, which is happy to announce that Genesis Fashions Ltd., one of the group’s main concerns, achieved the certification of Registered Training Organization by the Bangladeshi Government and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the framework of the Ready-Made Garment Center of Excellence project (COE).
The COE Project is designed to establish in Bangladesh a replicable model of an industry-driven training and support services Centre of Excellence for the readymade garment sector. This will implement certified training within the national skills development policy (NSDP) of Bangladesh.
The project, financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the fashion company H&M, is based on the fundamental principle that with an industry-based training focus, the initiative can effectively increase employability and drive higher incomes for the working poor. The project delivers training and certification for instructors, industry trainers and assessors as well as briefings for managers and executives of enterprises. Consistent with employment in the industry, the majority of beneficiaries are women and there is a target of five per cent for people with disabilities.
As a model centre, Genesis Fashions Ltd. demonstrated a sustainable, self-funded approach to co-ordinating training and labour market expertise and investment amongst a group of enterprises and training providers, within the framework of Bangladesh’s skills and labour policies and institutions. “We are extremely proud: we have worked so hard for our country, and this certification represents the edge of a long work, which has been rewarded today”, claims Munir Ahmed, owner of M&J Group.
Once again, M&J showed the industry and the whole world that a different way is possible: despite preconceptions and prejudices, the fashion system can count on a modern, efficient and conscious partner named M&J Group.