KappAhl Garments Training Center

Bangladesh is a small and over-populated developing country where millions live below the poverty line. Women have few opportunities to find jobs and become wage earners. Because most employers would rather hire men. Women in Bangladesh, especially those from poor and marginalized families, have trouble finding jobs and becoming economically self-reliant.

Because of this, KappAhl (a Swedish garments retailer) and TCM Bangladesh (a non-profitable national organization) jointly established a training center where the women from underprivileged backgrounds get the opportunity to receive technical garments training as well as basic training on life skills, health care and social awareness.

The project started in January 2010. The Center is placed at Tongi, outside Dhaka. The training course has the duration of seven months; four months at the training center and three months at a KappAhl-nominated factory. Thirty trainees in total are trained in two shifts.

Competition in the global markets have pressurized garment industries to produce high-quality goods at competitive rates. The industry faced a dearth of skilled and qualified works and also suffers from a very low participation of female workers. TCM-KappAhl Training Center of TCM Foundation has been successful in providing a pool of skilled female workers to the garment industry which not only has had an impact on the productivity and quality of the output but also led to a positive cultural change within the industry. The main objectives of this training center included generating employment for female workers, building capacity of the garment industry by providing skilled workers and dissemination of best practices in the industry. Female workers trained from TCM-KappAhl Training Center are now enjoying a greater autonomy, independence, participation in household decision making, due to employment and income generation.

Jamuna is a trainee from our first batch. Jamuna got married when she was in the 8th grade. She and her husband live together with her mother and two younger siblings in the Kolabagan slum in Cherag Ali, Tongi. Her husband has no regular work. After completing the course, she started to work in Textown factory as sewing operator in October 2010.

By being very honest, hardworking and sincere, she has been able to prove herself as a capable and skilled worker within a very short time. One year after she first starting working, she earned more than the average TK.7,000 per month. She is supporting her family financially and depositing TK.500 in her daughter’s name every month. She is the main bread winner for her family.

We wish her continued success and a bright future with her family.