ILO to enhance productivity in MSMEs

Visakhapatnam: National Project Coordinator, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Ashish Dhiman on Tuesday said they are on a mission to impart training to the enterprises to improve productivity and competitiveness.

He was speaking at the inaugural of a two-day training programme focusing on productivity enhancement, making enterprises competitive and responsible by improving working conditions. It was initiated for readymade garment enterprises.

The training is being conducted under ILO, funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) with the support of government of AP and Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) as local partners.

The programme intends to build capacity and enhance productivity of existing enterprises, so that they can be aligned with international standards and would be able to meet expectations of national and international buyers. ILO will be using its globally renowned tool designed specifically for MSMEs ie, Score (Sustainable Competitive and Responsible Enterprise) in collaboration with the State government as a pilot for a year to support them to align with the global supply chain.

Dhiman said the class-room training will be combined with on-site coaching, and the enterprises will be coached to adopt good management practices over a period of one year.

K Mallikharjuna Rao, Vice President, FAPCCI, G Ramalingeswara Raju, General Manager, District Industries Centre, Visakhapatnam, V Padma, Administrator, Vizag Apparel Export Park and N Gopi, Manager, Sidbi were present.

Welcoming the participants, Mallikharjuna Rao thanked ILO for recognising the need of MSME entrepreneurs in garment sectors. The training is a great opportunity for the units in garment sector in Visakhapatnam. The initiative of ILO for building capacity is very much in need of the present situation of the MSMES in this sector, he stated.