AMHSSC Unveils 2026 Roadmap With Focus On AI, MSME Clusters & Leadership Skilling

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Jan 3 (KNN) The Apparel Made-Ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) has outlined an ambitious strategic roadmap for 2026, signalling a shift towards technology-driven skill development in India's garment and home furnishing sector.

While reaffirming the Sewing Machine Operator as a core job role and the backbone of the apparel manufacturing workforce, the council has identified artificial intelligence (AI), MSME cluster development and leadership-level skilling as its key priorities for the coming year.

Focus on Industry 4.0 and Centres of Excellence

Central to the roadmap is the establishment of new Centres of Excellence (COEs) across the country to modernise skill training in one of India's most labour-intensive industries.

These centres are expected to integrate AI-led learning, productivity tools and advanced manufacturing practices into traditional training frameworks, moving beyond basic tailoring skills to improve global employability and productivity.

Leadership Perspective on Global Competitiveness

AMHSSC Chairman Dr A. Sakthivel said the roadmap underscores the urgent need for India's apparel industry to align with global manufacturing standards.“The future of the textile and apparel sector lies in technology-driven skills, sustainability, and strong leadership across the value chain. Through this roadmap, we are preparing our workforce not just for domestic growth, but for global competitiveness,” he said.

Ashish Srivastava, CEO, AMHSSC, noted that the council's focus for 2026 is on developing a technology-enabled talent pool aligned with future industry requirements.“By integrating AI and sustainability into our core curriculum, we are not training for yesterday's factories. Our emphasis on MSME clusters and leadership roles ensures that skill development reaches every layer of the industry and supports India's ambition of becoming the skill capital of the world,” he said.

MSME Clusters, Career Progression and Sustainability

A major pillar of the roadmap is MSME and cluster-based skill development. By localising training delivery, AMHSSC aims to equip small and medium enterprises-key contributors to textile and apparel exports-with specialised and industry-relevant skills, while supporting improvements in efficiency and scalability.

The council also plans to introduce aspirational job roles at supervisory and leadership levels, marking a shift from a predominantly entry-level vocational training model towards structured career progression.

Sustainability will be embedded as a mandatory component across all programmes, in line with global compliance requirements and green manufacturing standards.

Performance in 2025

The roadmap builds on a strong performance in 2025, during which AMHSSC certified 1.69 lakh candidates. Of these, 83,817 certifications were under the PM Vishwakarma scheme, 73,024 through non-PMKVY initiatives, and 12,272 under PMKVY during 2025–26.

Industry engagement also remained steady under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), with 201 apparel and textile establishments registered and 4,414 apprenticeship contracts recorded, indicating growing industry confidence in structured skilling and apprenticeship frameworks.

(KNN Bureau)

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