Bridging the gap between the apparel industry and academia

The apparel industry is the backbone of Bangladesh's economy. The industry accounts for about 84 percent of the country's total export earnings and its contribution to national GDP is about 16 percent.

It is the lifeline of the country; providing high quality, fairly paid jobs to professionals. Bangladesh is now the second-largest apparel producing country exporting 'Made in Bangladesh' clothes to 160 countries globally. Based on this growth, the industry has the chance to become the leading garment producer in the world.

Despite all the facts stated above and given the importance of the apparel sector to our nation, it is a sorry state of affairs that there is not one single item on the curriculum of our schools and colleges pertaining to our apparel industry.

There is only one public university, the Bangladesh University of Textiles offering education on the apparel and textile industry. Moreover, only a handful of our private and public universities offer courses on textile or industrial engineering.

There are only a couple of private universities dedicated to textile and fashion, including the BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) established by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in 2012.

A country that is so dependent on one industry needs to place more emphasis on developing tomorrow's leaders for this sector. The apparel industry in Bangladesh needs to draw the attention of the youth of the country, to show them the huge career opportunities that are to be found in the RMG sector.

This could include a stronger emphasis on providing young people with a basic understanding of the sector, including the various levels of employment opportunities in the industry -- merchandisers, designers, product developers, industrial engineers and beyond.

The apparel factories and buying offices in Bangladesh often hire managers from neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka and India as potential talent is abundant here -- but they need to be nurtured the right way. Moreover, the vast majority of innovation introduced in our apparel sector is mostly being purchased from foreign companies.

Not only does this involve the procurement of physical machines and technology, but it also generally involves the contracting of foreign nationals to ensure the correct installation of the machines or technologies as well as general upkeep and maintenance of them when they are in place. How will the Bangladesh apparel industry continue to develop if we fail to nurture homegrown talent in the field of innovation? The importance of a strong educational framework that acts as a support system to build an innovation-positive environment cannot be overstated.

Furthermore, the world has now entered the 4^th industrial revolution where automation is a fact of life in apparel production whether we like it or not. Bangladesh cannot afford to fall behind on this issue, as other garment manufacturing hubs are also exploring how to use automation to boost productivity.

We need to ensure that the correct levels of innovation are being encouraged but also make sure that the newly emerging talent can find suitable employment where their skills can be best utilised.

Therefore, there is a strong need for greater collaboration between the textile industry and the education sector. Examples of such collaborations are many in western countries where we see ideas developed in colleges and universities being shared with the industry.

Strong links have been forged between academia and industry there, with spin-off companies formed in universities often going on to achieve international commercial success. Many of the companies that have now become global leaders such as Google and Facebook were conceived in universities. Bangladesh needs to learn from such examples.

Our industry leaders have a vital role to play here by visiting universities and providing inputs to the government about the long-term needs of the industry. There is an urgent need to develop competent workers who can prove themselves amid stiff global competition.

The country's business schools, in cooperation with the BGMEA and the BKMEA, can develop training programs for their graduates. We now have a second generation of young manufacturers and leaders who I believe are smart enough to leverage homegrown talent.

Times are changing and Bangladesh is slowly graduating to a middle-income country. Supply chains in the global apparel industry are also changing fast especially after the pandemic. To cope with these changes, the apparel industry and academia need to work together.

We are blessed with a population of some 167 million people, 70 percent of whom are under the age of 40. If we can utilise the power of the young population and equip them with proper knowledge and education, our apparel industry will get access to local talent that will allow the sector to compete at the higher end of the value chain.

Abdullah Hil Rakib is the Managing Director of Team Group and the Director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA). He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees at BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT).