May 03, 2008

Due to the rising global demand for textiles —Pakistan being the fourth biggest producer of cotton in the world — the future of textile industry seems quite optimistic. In accordance with the international market situation, Pakistan ministry of Textiles has fixed an export target of 13 billion dollars for the year 2007-08, giving the textile sector an opportunity to spread its wings.

Other factors have contributed to the growth of industry. These include lifting the ban on cotton import from India and allowing the spinners to import cotton from there. Besides, Pakistan does not need to import cotton from other countries, which helps reduce the cost of production as compared to other parts of the world. Thus, a career in textile industry is full of opportunities and progress.

There are many universities in Pakistan that offer courses in textile; however, while some offer engineering degrees in textile, some institutes provide BSc degree in textile sciences and others offer courses in textile management, textile technology, textile and fashion designing.

“National Textile University (NTU), Faisalabad, Karachi-based Textile Institute of Pakistan, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Hajveri University, Lahore, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan and Gujranwala Institute of Future Technologies also known as GIFT University are the main institutes that offer various courses related to textile industry,” said Dr Tanveer Hussain, Chairman, Department of Textile Chemistry, NTU.

Students interested in textile engineering programmes must complete HSC with pre-engineering, whereas those who want to go for textile or fashion designing can apply straight after A Levels in any discipline, but preferably in fine arts.

“Basically admission criteria including matric and HSC percentage, aptitude test and interview clearance may vary from university to university. Some institutes only consider marks at intermediate level while others also consider performance in aptitude test,” adds Hussain.

While discussing the career prospects in textile industry Hussain said that there are four main branches of textile industry namely; textile spinning sector, weaving section, processing and garment manufacturing area. These departments offer careers in production management, maintenance management, quality control, research and development and textile marketing and merchandising.

“People holding degrees in textile can opt to work in any of these departments depending on their areas of specialisation. Textile professionals can also work in dyes and chemical supplying companies,” he said, adding that textile experts also have the option of switching to education sector and become lecturers at textile departments in the universities.

“The career scope is huge in textile in Pakistan and an average starting salary offered to a fresh candidate is about Rs18,000, which can rise up to Rs400,000, with respect to experience,” says Muhammad Ayub, Manager Finance Department, Riaz Textile Mills (Pvt.) Ltd.

However, Ayub added that internationally, career possibilities for textile professionals are not so bright except for Bangladesh where recent developments in the sector have created opportunities and many senior level personnel from Pakistan have availed them.

Career in textile industry, no doubt, offers lucrative benefits and also explores an artist within since it is the combination of technology and creativity.

The one challenge of working in textile is that it is a time-consuming and labour-oriented job since the engineers are required to work hard for long hours.

Hussain adds, “Textile qualified persons may also broaden their horizons by doing MBA or MCS (masters in computer science). A degree in business administration can pave way for textile management career while Masters Degree in computer science with a specialisation in computer graphics can open doors for a career in computer-aided textile designing.”

Hence, textile engineering offers a wide scope since it provides various other opportunities for a more rewarding future.