AEPC to set up 9 more ATDCs

Sapna Dogra, New Delhi

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) will set up 9 more Apparel Training & Design Centres (ATDC) in various parts of the country to upgrade the technical skills of personnel employed in the readymade garment industry. As part of this expansion, the Gurgaon centre of the ATDC at SCO 18-19, Sector-14 was inaugurated on January 12 by secretary, textiles Mr R Poornalingam. In order to achieve the quality growth in the readymade garment sector and to train the shopfloor supervisors/workers in the garment industry, the ATDC has been established at Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Jaipur and Kolkata. The institutes provide trained manpower in the field of pattern making/cutting techniques, practical supervision and quality control techniques so as to enable the readymade garment industry to attain maximum productivity in the face of global competition. The ATDCs develop skills at the grassroot level, so that people employed in the garment manufacturing industry become conscious of the quality parameters needed for the export market.

The board of governors of the ATDC has approved an ambitious plan to upgrade the existing centres and to open nine more centres at Gurgoan, Noida, Ludhiana, Tirupur, Thiruvananthapuram, Surat, Navi Mumbai and Bhubaneswar and Kanpur so that the industry can be provided with extra trained manpower. The centres would start functioning with effect from Jan-Feb 2005.

The courses are mainly designed to give detailed knowledge on various aspects of garment making and include all the aspects of the production technology, pattern making, packaging, dispatch of shipment as well as development of marketing and merchandising skills required for handling of production in large garment factories. The centre also offers tailor-made, short one-month courses catering to specific needs of some sections of the garment industry. The students get training from experienced and specialised faculty members.