Knitwear and apparel exporters in Tiruppur have lauded the Indian Government for its crucial support to the garment sector by approving a new skill development scheme. The new scheme titled ‘Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)’ covers the entire value chain of the textile sector excluding spinning and weaving in organised sector.
SCBTS envisages an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore during 2017-18 to 2019-20. It will have National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant training courses with funding norms as per the common norms notified by ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
“The Government has considered the long requisition of association for allocation of fund to impart skilling to new workers and upskilling. Recognition of prior learning is ‘need of the hour’ to Tiruppur knitwear cluster, which employs six lakh workers directly. It is only by enhancing productivity that the much-needed competitiveness can be attained and sustained in the global market,†said Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA).
“Most of the workers in Tiruppur cluster are self-groomed without any proper technical skill orientation or training and this creates an inconsistency in the production and quality parameters resulting in reputation loss for the country as a whole and this can now be addressed effectively,†said Shanmugham.