ATDC converts 'demographic bulge' to 'productive dividend'

03 Apr '14

5 min read

During a pilot project period starting from October 2010 till March 2014, Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) has exceeded its training target by crossing 100,000 candidates trained against a target of 88,000 set by the Indian Ministry of Textiles and in the process played a key role in arresting labour shortage and converting ‘demographic bulge’ to a ‘productive dividend’.

ATDC operating through over 200 centres in 18 states has proved to be a messiah for garment manufacturing units across India, by providing industry- ready workforce through 29 trade courses offering vocational training to 5th standard drop outs to 12th standard pass outs and more.

The apparel sector is estimated to employ over 7 million workers directly and 25 million indirectly out of which 50% are in the export sector.

Explaining the working of ATDC to fibre2fashion, Dr Darlie Koshy – DG at ATDC says, “ATDC centers together train about 5,000 people every month in short-term courses and 7,000-10,000 people every year in long-term courses.”

He adds, “ATDC is the only organization which offers shop floor, supervisory & managerial level trainings/courses within the education and training eco-system. Creation of such a comprehensive training eco-system has accorded a leadership position to ATDC by transforming it into India's largest vocational training provider for the apparel sector”.

ATDC came into existence under the aegis of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) in 1996. Between 1996 and 2009, ATDC grew to 45 centers having trained 40,000 candidates in that period. However, once the Ministry of Textiles adopted the Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) in 2010, ATDC undertook rapid expansion and has now grown to 200 centers.

Rough estimates reveal that an Rs 1 Crore investment in the apparel industry results in providing 275 direct & 125 indirect jobs. Studies also indicate that Rs 1 Crore worth of apparel exports create 85 jobs which include 32 tailors, 32 inline personnel and 21 indirect jobs like designers, merchandisers, quality controllers, junior & middle level managers etc.

A National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) study reveals that till 2022, there will be a requirement of around 930,000 supervisors and technicians and a mind boggling 8.13 million operators from the Indian apparel sector. Will ATDC be able to meet this demand?

Dr Koshy explains, “ATDC centers have been set up in almost all Indian apparel clusters and in the last three years by training over 100,000 people, have played a key role in arresting labour shortage and converting ‘demographic bulge’ to a productive dividend’.

“A visible positive impact has been felt in the apparel export sector which has been facing acute shortage of workforce during 2011, 2012 & 2013 and ATDC’s rapid expansion helped in meeting skill deficit to a certain extent. The ‘mission to movement’ of ATDC in upskilling apparel sector has helped in improving the lives of around 500,000 people during this period”.

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