(MENAFN- The Post) MASERU -THE prevailing wisdom in Lesotho's textile sector is that you cannot start a factory without expatriates from Taiwan, China, and Sri Lanka.
That explains why nearly all textile factories have huge contingents of expatriates specialising in sewing machine mechanics, pattern designers, fabric experts, sewing machine operators, production managers, supervisors. Sometimes factories hire expatriates for mundane clerical work like processing orders, exports, imports and basic accounting.
That is why, to a larger extent, the transfer of crucial skills to locals has been slow.
It doesn't help that graduates in Lesotho look down on careers in the textile sector despite the fact that the factories offer decent wages and have a dire shortage of skilled labour.
Afri-Expo Textiles, a locally-owned factory, is trying to buck that trend.
For the past five years the company has been training employees in all areas of its operations.
The result is that locals are moving up the corporate ladder while others are acquiring specialised skills that the factory would have had to import.
Leading the factory's efforts to make its 'own timber' is Lin Chiyi, a 34-year-old veteran of the textile industry.
Lin, who is the factory manager, previously worked in textiles in China and Cambodia.
Having started at the very bottom on the factory floor, Lin knows every job on the production line.
For the past five years he has been training machine operators, designers, quality controllers, supervisors and managers at Afri-Expo.
Every Sunday senior and mid-ranking managers at the factory spend hours in workshops he conducts.
'Lesotho should train its own specialists if it wants to grow the sector,' Lin says.
'No country has ever developed an industry in which its own citizens are just providing basic labour. You need the locals to have the skills to drive the sector.'
One who has benefited from Lin's training and mentorship is Ikaneng Kobeli, 35, a trainee factory manager. With a Master's Degree in Governance and Regional Integration, Kobeli should ideally be holding an office job in a bank, NGO or government.
Yet she chose to be in textiles, a sector many of her peers consider beneath them.
'I chose to look at the bigger picture. The future of our economy is in manufacturing.'
Kobeli is confident that in a few years she will be ready to fill Lin's shoes.
'I have the passion to learn everything about this job and sector.'
Lin is also optimistic that Kobeli and other employees are on the right track.
That progress has inspired him to introduce new production methods at the factory.
For the past year he has been experimenting with the 'piece ready' concept, where an employee is paid for every completed task on a garment.
The system has been found to increase production, efficiency and the employees' earnings.
'So, an employee is no longer earning a basic salary but according to how many pieces they complete,' says Lin, adding that the system has been piloted in other areas of the production line.
In other countries the system has helped employees earn substantially more than their basic salaries and the minimum wage.
He is however quick to point out that the system works well if the factory is able to capture more orders.
'That is why we are pushing to have more factory space and our own laundry so that we can get more orders.'
With a bigger factory and a laundry, Afri-Expo can move from the Cut, Trim and Make to manufacture its own products.
'This will significantly increase the margins and give us competitive advantage because it shifts the bargaining power from the buyers to us,' Lin explains.
'Once we can make our own products, we will have control on the production and margins'.
Tholoan Tšiame, 30, has been an accountant at the factory since 2018. She too has benefited from Lin's tutorship. She joined the factory after two years in clothing retail.
'The experience and work ethic here are different. Here the deadlines are extremely tight and if you miss them you affect the whole production line. There is no room for errors,' Tšiame says.
Now training to be a chartered accountant, Tšiame sees herself rising through the ranks at the factory.
'I consider myself a seed that has been planted. I am one of the pioneers and will one day be one of the driving forces in this sector.'
Like Lin, she believes the lack of a laundry and space is stifling Afri-Expo's potential.
'There is massive room for growth, if only we can sort out the space and laundry issues.'
Afri-Expo's impact on its employees is apparent on the factory floor.
For many of the 600 employees of the factory's two production lines, the job at Afri-Expo is their first in life. Take, for instance, Mamello Chopho, a-27-year-old mother of one.
Chopho was only 20 when she got pregnant. The boyfriend disappeared soon, leaving her to fend for the child and herself. With no tertiary education or trade training she spent three years doing odd jobs in Matsieng.
'Life was unbearable. Feeding my child was a struggle,' Chopho says.
Her fortunes however changed in 2016 when she enrolled at the Good Shepard Centre for Teenage Mothers where she took courses in catering, animal husbandry, agriculture, child care, business management and sewing.
Chopho says she was excited to acquire those skills but knew her battle was far from over. Although the courses gave her a leg up in the labour market, she could have ended up joining thousands of other young people struggling to get a job.
Luckily Chopho avoided that struggle when she got an attachment at Afri-Expo.
'I worked hard because I knew this was my best chance to get a job,' she says.
Things worked out fine for Chopho because she was hired soon after her attachment. Her job on the production line is to cut belt loops. She has also perfected her sewing skills.
The plan, she says, is to work a few years at the factory before trying to start her own business.
'The job here has given me a chance to get something to feed and clothe my children.' 'Now I can think of starting a small business for myself. But I know that will take years of saving and help from other people but I am determined to make it happen.'
Chopho's story is similar to that of many other employees at the factory. Mamello Sekaleli, 28, a mother of two, was a maid before joining Afri-Expo's ironing team five years ago.
'When I arrived here, I was at my lowest but now things are looking up. I can feed my children,' says Sekaleli, who has also trained as a sewing machine operator.
'I see myself as a supervisor soon. There is that chance, so I keep training.'
Like this:Like Loading...
MENAFN04032021000229011070ID1101698723
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.