KARACHI, April 10: The ministry of commerce has approved Rs96 million from the Export Development Fund (EDF) for skill development in the textile garment sector. A Textile Garment Skill Development Board was set up at the ministry of textile in pursuance of the Trade Policy 2005-06 for imparting skill development in the garment sector. Under the scheme, a number of garment manufacturing units are to be declared as skill development training institutes.

The board, amongst other tasks, was to chalk out modalities for selection of such units to be declared as training institutes and determine the expenses of students and trainees and element of subsidy to be provided by the government.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in a meeting on February 1 had directed the ministry of textile industry to immediately start a skill development programme for workers in the garment industry for which funding should be allocated from the EDF.

The textile board in a meeting on Feb 21 decided to train around 20,000-25,000 machine operators in one year, on an average 7,500 each from Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, to create a critical mass and bring in a visible change.

The government will bear the cost of stipend to the trainee at Rs2,500 per month and salary to the trainer to the extent of Rs1,000 per trainee per month. Forty-three garment units, which showed willingness to join the programme through the respective association, have been asked by the ministry of textile to confirm their participation in the programme by April 15, 2006.