EPB signs deals to train 22,815 RMG workers, officials

The Export Promotion Bureau has signed separate agreements with BGMEA, BKMEA and BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology to enhance the skills of workers, employees and mid-level officials in the readymade garment sector.

The agreements were signed at the Export Promotion Bureau conference room today (25 June) to support skills development in the country's main export sector.

Mohammad Hassan Arif, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Export Promotion Bureau, chaired the signing ceremony.

The training programme will be implemented over the next three fiscal years — 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 — with a target to train 22,815 people.

Under the programme, five-day training courses for workers will be conducted under the management of BGMEA and BKMEA, while six-month postgraduate diploma courses for officials will be conducted under the management of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology.

The expenses of the training programme will be met from the training fund of the Ministry of Commerce.

The programme aims to increase productivity, ensure the use of modern machinery, produce quality products in line with international market demand and save foreign currency by developing skilled officials.

The training will also give special emphasis to compliance requirements and rules of origin for export destinations, including the European Union.

Speaking at the meeting, the BGMEA President said the number of suit factories in the country is gradually increasing.

He said the training would be more timely and effective if circular machine operation and compliance-related issues were included in the module, rather than focusing solely on basic woven machinery operation.

A BKMEA representative said the relaunch of the training programme would benefit workers, employees and officials of readymade garment factories.

The Vice-Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau stressed the need to modernise and improve the training modules, strengthen monitoring and assess how the readymade garment industry benefits from applying the knowledge gained through the training.

He also emphasised close supervision of the three-year training programme by all relevant organisations.

He urged the organisations concerned to maintain sincere efforts in conducting each batch of government-funded training and to ensure transparency and accountability.

Md Ruhul Amin, Director General of the Export Promotion Bureau and Head of CMC; Mahmud Hasan Khan, President of BGMEA; Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, Executive President of BKMEA; and Professor Dr Ayub Nabi Khan, Vice-Chancellor of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology, were present, along with other senior officials.

The agreements are expected to help modernise the country's apparel sector and further strengthen export capacity.