Textile Policy 2009-14: Ministry yet to initiate Rs eight billion skill development programme

Despite prime minister's approval of Textile Policy 2009-2014 and directives for its proper implementation, the ministry of textile is yet to initiate Rs 8 billion skill development programme for industrial workforce during current fiscal year 2009-10, Business Recorder learnt on Wednesday.
According to sources, the federal cabinet with prime minister in the chair, had approved the Textile Policy on August 12, 2009 in order to develop skilled human resources for textile industry to enhance country's socio-economic development. However, the programme could not be launched due to, what the sources said, a slack approach of federal authorities.
The center had also earmarked Rs 1 billion for the said programme under federal government's public sector development program (PSDP) 2009-10 to be run on public private partnership basis, however not a single penny had been utilised so far, they added. Textile sector contributes more than 50 percent of country's total export earnings, they said, adding that during current year total exports were $9.6 billion with 46 percent share of manufacturing in it.
Within the textile sector, garment is the most labour intensive, adds maximum value and generates highest level of employment. In order to achieve the objective of high value added exports, there is an urgent need to launch a programme to equip the workforce with high standards of skills in the areas of quality stitching, pattern making and cutting, quality assurance line supervisors and packaging, the sources said.
Recently, Planning Commission has forwarded a proposal of skill development programme for textile industry to governments of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochistan seeking comments/views to be forwarded to the Center Development Working Party (CDWP) for its approval, they said.
Under the skill development programme, at least 500,000 labourers would get training with an active participation of women ie 60 percent, they said and added that a network of employment link training units would be set up for garments manufacturing.
The programme would be operated across the country on public private partnership model and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad would monitor the process. Besides this, a stipend of at least Rs 3,000 would be paid to trainees, they said. Furthermore, the sources said that the allocation of Rs 1 billion was expected to be earmarked again in the upcoming budget and work on it might start after the announcement of Budget 2010-11.