This article written by Babul Singh and edited by OCS team.
The Fact
Garment manufacturing sector is a labor intensive industry. In garment manufacturing companies, more than 70% employees are operators (workers). Operators are hired by a factory from different sources – sometime factories get trained operators, but most cases companies need to hire operators as trainees. After hiring employees for sewing floor, they are trained sewing skill by the company’s operator training cell. Many organizations have their own training cells, and they do operator training program to build up skill.Though the garment factories initiated training programs by themselves or with Govt. support, it has been observed that many companies closed their training cells in recent time. Primary reason behind this closure of training cell is operator’s discontinuation of working in the company where they get training for their job.
Now question is why trainee employees and newly trained sewing operator leave a company that hired them and trained them to earn money for their living?
Based on my observation and interaction with many operators, I see following are some major reason behind the operator’s termination from their first company.
1. Supervisors expecting unrealistic performance from the trainee operators
In a garment factory line supervisors wants skilled operator from training room. But nobody hand holds operators when they are shifted to production for working on production style. Supervisor expects them to perform at fullest like other operators in a line, instead of introducing operators with easy operation and giving lower target. I mean they are not assigned to sewing operators according to their skills, (poor manpower handling by line supervisors, I.E & floor In-charge in some cases).In the highly demanded production line, newly trained operators not able to meet the production target. They feel insecure continuing their work and they quit.
2. A tough production environment
During training of operator, fresher operator take training in training room. They should be allowed to visit the real production room and live production line as a part of training program. This will help building their knowledge where they will be shifted to after their training completion. They will get feel of working with experienced workers and working with real garments. Factory can also include this in their training course and educate production environment.This will help trainee operators understand the sewing floor better. Production staffs identify them freshers and avoid them to give a critical operations. Line supervisor treats them as trainee operators, and they are not skilled enough to work on this operation (several examples shows). They create an environment that all are the high skilled operation. This makes unhappy among freshly trained operators.
3. Operator’s skill upgradation not done in time
When trainee operators give better performance, company must upgrade their skill according to the company’s skill upgradation policy. Maximum time organization’s mid management do not count their work. Skill upgradation is a recognition of operators’ effort and their commitment to the company. It also linked to salary pay rate. Sometimes, it happens due to lengthy process, ignorance of management and supervision staff toward trainee operator (new workers).This is one of the few reasons sewing operators remain unhappy and decide to quit.
4. Delay is salary revision for trainee operators
Money matters. As you read in point-3 that many garment factories don’t bother about upgrading operators’ skills and/or increasing their salary even operators work more than a period (one year). After working more than one year in stitching work, many sewing operators obtain good skills and do the sewing operations that required skilled operators.At this stage, these operators understood that staying with the same company will not give them a better salary. And if they join to another company, they will be considered as a skilled operators and they will easily get a higher salary that is given to a skilled operator.
To stop sewing operators leaving the company after getting trained, organization must revise their salary in predefined period. May be after completing six months or nine months from the training completion.
What could be the solution for stopping employees to leave the company?
A need based training plane can reduce the shortage of operators in this situation.According to solution way garment manufacturers can start need base training where they provide training to existing workforce in the organization like thread cutter, folding workers, packers, helpers, and press-man also. they have willing to learn in fast way also they can take growth after their performance on shorter way. Because they will be motivated to convert the post and upgrade their salary also.
Why employers don’t increase operator salary after they are shifted to production line?
Employers also have reason for not raising salary.Freshers are given training fee of cost in the factory. Given access to sewing machine and training materials. Even all trainee operators get paid salary for their training period. Operators gets double benefits – free training (which may cost them INR 1500/- to -3000/-) and secondly, they are getting salary without sewing any production work.
Employers consider this as a premium paid to new operator and don’t see any reason of raising their salary within a year when they start working on the production. They expect company trained operators would be loyal to company and they should work for at least one year or two.
Now, you know the few reasons why operators don’t continue working in the same company where they get initial training to become an operator. This scenario of operator unhappiness and leaving the first company is often observed in export houses and home textile industry across the country. Like in Ranchi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Panipat, etc.
Garment factories need to come forward to bring some changes in the operator training and accepting them as skilled one when they show their performance. Give them values and include them with the main pool of the sewing operators.
It is high time HR department must set-up a policy for operator’s skill upgradation and salary revision and that should be communicated to the operators when they are hired for training. Keep motivating trainee turned trained operators.
Employers consider this as a premium paid to new operator and don’t see any reason of raising their salary within a year when they start working on the production. They expect company trained operators would be loyal to company and they should work for at least one year or two.
Conclusion:
It is a major issue in the readymade garment industry. Garment factories don’t feel motivated and want to spend money one training cells after observing the current state of operator leaving their company. Which cause shortage of sewing operators when they need.Now, you know the few reasons why operators don’t continue working in the same company where they get initial training to become an operator. This scenario of operator unhappiness and leaving the first company is often observed in export houses and home textile industry across the country. Like in Ranchi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Panipat, etc.
Garment factories need to come forward to bring some changes in the operator training and accepting them as skilled one when they show their performance. Give them values and include them with the main pool of the sewing operators.
It is high time HR department must set-up a policy for operator’s skill upgradation and salary revision and that should be communicated to the operators when they are hired for training. Keep motivating trainee turned trained operators.
About the Author:
Babul is an industrial engineer in garment manufacturing. He has working experience of more than 10 years in various positions. He has worked with BL International, Orient craft, Team Krian, and Radnik Exports.