Launch of RPL Scheme under PMKVY for the Apparel Sector

                                                                

Launch of RPL Scheme under PMKVY for the Apparel Sector

RPL under PMKVY – Implementation by Labour Net with Raymond as the Industry Partner

Labour Net Services India Pvt Ltd, an NSDC partner, launched Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) for the Apparel Sector in association with Raymond as the industry partner on 14^th November, 2016at Inside Jnan Chandra Ghosh Polytechnic College, 7, Mayurbhanj Road, Kolkata. On the day of launch, a 12-hour orientation session was conducted as a part of preparatory training for RPL in Apparel skills. This involves 6 hours of training in technical skills followed by 4 hours of soft skills and 2 hours induction into assessments, related concepts, processes etc.The applicants to be compensated with one day’s wage. With RPL certification the tailors can opt for fresh trainings to upgrade their skills.

Commenting about this partnership, Ms. Gayathri Vasudevan, Co- Founder of LabourNet said “Skilled tailors with certification get paid higher when compared to uncertified ones thereby, the tailors received a RPL Certificate post the session which enables them to work at various apparels companies across the country at a reasonable wage”. Elaborating on the scheme, she also said, “The scope of the present project to conduct RPL assessments and certification for ‘Self-Employed Tailor’ and ‘Hand Embroidery Worker’ in the Apparel sector and plan to extend RPL to other industry sectors in the coming months”.

Raymond is a leader in the high-end Men’s apparel. Trust, Excellence, Quality, these are some of the abiding values that have been associated with Raymond over the years. Today, it has the distinction of being the world's largest integrated producers of worsted suiting fabrics. As an integrated player, Raymond provides end-to-end fabric solutions right from manufacturing worsted, woollen and linen fabrics to creating suits, trousers and apparel. Raymond employs a large pool of skilled tailors and Master Tailors to meet its objectives.

Raymond, along with LabourNet wishes to run the intervention for its tailors to:

a)      Give each tailor an Industry recognized certification that would help formalize the individual’s learning and give him industry-level credibility.

b)     Enable Raymonds to benchmark its tailors based on performance and categorise them as Silver. Gold or Platinum tailors and hence help chart out a career growth path for them.

c)      Enable Raymonds to benchmark performance based on national criteria and build subsequent learning interventions for its trainers based on identified areas of improvement. Raymond is a proponent of life-long learning and wishes to build a highly skilled workforce.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL addresses many issues in skill development of unorganized workforce. Through RPL assessments and certifications, candidates will be able to align competencies that they have acquired informally with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) for better opportunities in employment and higher education. It will also lead to the creation of an equitable system where the workers in the informal sector, who have acquired the skills on their own, can appear for RPL assessments and upskill themselves.

About the Apparel Sector

Indian Textile and Clothing (Apparel) industry is the second largest manufacturer in the world with an estimated export value of US$ 31 billion and domestic consumption of US$ 58 billion for the year 2011-12. The sector contributes to about 6% of the US$ 1.7 trillion Indian economy. It also provides employment to 35 million persons directly & 55 million persons indirectly. India is among the very few countries which have presence across the entire supply chain, from natural and synthetic fibres right up to finished goods manufacturing. It has presence in organised mill sector as well as decentralised sectors like handloom, power loom, silk, etc.

It has been observed that people who have been trained informally or have learnt through experience and are working in garment units or self-employed are not able to meet the demands from the industry. Due to their unorganized nature of work and lack of formal training, their skills and years of experience are left unrecognized and as a result of this, they are underpaid and fail to get secure employment. Therefore through RPL, their existing skills will be recognized and certified.

About LabourNet

Labour Net is a social enterprise dedicated to enabling sustainable livelihoods through skilling interventions, wage employment or self-employment. We focus on improving the socioeconomic status of the workforce in the informal sector through various ways of filling in the existing gaps. These gaps could be in the wages or the knowledge and skill levels or employability options. www.labournet.in

Labour Net was founded in 2006 and in the last three years we have scaled up considerably with our presence in 650 locations across India, impacting 440000 individuals.