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A recently completed independent review of the Clothing and Textile Service Centres (CLOTEX) business support initiatives during 2004/5 found that the projects, activities and programmes provided through the Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) Development Programme offer an extremely valuable service to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the clothing and textile industry. CLOTEX was founded in 1994 to provide focused business support: mentoring, training programmes, community projects, linkage schemes and information sessions to small clothing and textile businesses in the Western Cape. These business support initiatives are aimed at enhancing the performance and international competitiveness of CMTs. Since 1994 thousands of businesses and entrepreneurs have benefited from CLOTEXs support.
At a time of huge pressures on the clothing and textile industry, negative stories of businesses closures and employee retrenchments tend to dominate the headlines. The review carried out on the work and activities of CLOTEX, however, offers hope: amidst the widespread gloom there have been success stories. These are worth highlighting.
Firstly, the mentoring programme delivered to CMT business owners, supervisors and machine operators has improved the confidence of owner-managers and employees by developing their capabilities and competencies and introducing new ways of working. In the course of gaining a greater understanding of the operational environment and industry challenges, CMTs are coached to focus on creating greater internal efficiencies by, for example, limiting downtime through balancing the production line, forward planning and cost control management. This approach to mentoring has yielded some impressive turnaround figures, with average efficiency rates increasing from 35% to 75%, garment reject percentages being reduced from 45% to 3%, and 1104 jobs being sustained during 2004/5. These accomplishments have contributed significantly to increased sustainability and growth in the clothing and textile industry, especially at a time of escalating job losses and instability caused by global competition.
Secondly, CLOTEXs short courses are of an extremely high quality and standard. Attended by over 764 SMMEs during 2004/5, they vary in length ranging from one-day production planning courses to a six-month Business Management Programme. The training courses focus on a range of industry specific issues, including costing, middle management supervisory training, garment construction, pattern making and machine mechanics. They are presented by lecturers from leading Western Cape academic and business institutions, notably the UCT Graduate School of Business, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Bagraims Attorneys (Labour Law Specialists). And participants are drawn from varying backgrounds in terms of learning and experience, and business types - from small CMTs with one or two employees to big Design Houses and manufacturers, like the Foschini Group. In order to ensure that the diverse needs and requirements of delegates are satisfied, lecturers employ a range of learning styles and mediums of interaction.
The third success factor of CLOTEXs business development activities is the community projects and linkage programmes designed to develop and transfer entrepreneurial skills to various communities. In this area of work CLOTEX has distinguished itself through its ability to extend its efforts beyond the Cape Town Metropolitan area by forging strategic partnerships with community stakeholders. Projects undertaken over the past year have included a sewing project with Ipi Tombi Clothing, the only clothing manufacturer in Caledon (one of the areas in the province with high rates of unemployment), an industrial sewing project with Blue Bell Clothing in George (which was undertaken in collaboration with the George Municipality), and technical skills training to the Self Employed Workers Union in Gugulethu. Other communities that have benefited from CLOTEX interventions include: Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Mannenberg, Langa, Phillipi and Beaufort West.
Fourthly, CLOTEX has developed strong relationships with a number of leading Design Houses and manufacturers. This provides CMTs with a unique opportunity to gain access to mainstream manufacturers and to enter into supply contracts facilitated and monitored by CLOTEX. The work of CLOTEX is also valued highly by Design Houses, with Barry Cline, for example, declaring his preference for working with CMTs that are mentored and introduced to him by CLOTEX. This preference, he points out, is based on CLOTEX being often better than the rest. Moreover, the contracting of the services of a CLOTEX mentor by a prominent Salt River manufacturer to develop key performance indicators for cutters, machinists and finishers attests to the high regard in which CLOTEX is held by Design Houses and manufacturers.
Overall, the past year has recorded great successes for CLOTEX. But there is no room for complacency. The challenge now is to build on these successes and introduce new projects that proactively address the concerns highlighted by stakeholders during the course of the review. These include developing initiatives to reduce the high rates of absenteeism in the industry, creating efficient work supply arrangements between CMTs and Design Houses, tackling red tape and legal compliance issues that curtail the competitiveness of small businesses, and exploring innovative ways of leveraging financial support to the struggling industry.
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Article:
A recently completed independent review of the Clothing and Textile Service Centres (CLOTEX) business support initiatives during 2004/5 found that the projects, activities and programmes provided through the Cut-Make-Trim (CMT) Development Programme offer an extremely valuable service to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the clothing and textile industry. CLOTEX was founded in 1994 to provide focused business support: mentoring, training programmes, community projects, linkage schemes and information sessions to small clothing and textile businesses in the Western Cape. These business support initiatives are aimed at enhancing the performance and international competitiveness of CMTs. Since 1994 thousands of businesses and entrepreneurs have benefited from CLOTEXs support.
At a time of huge pressures on the clothing and textile industry, negative stories of businesses closures and employee retrenchments tend to dominate the headlines. The review carried out on the work and activities of CLOTEX, however, offers hope: amidst the widespread gloom there have been success stories. These are worth highlighting.
Firstly, the mentoring programme delivered to CMT business owners, supervisors and machine operators has improved the confidence of owner-managers and employees by developing their capabilities and competencies and introducing new ways of working. In the course of gaining a greater understanding of the operational environment and industry challenges, CMTs are coached to focus on creating greater internal efficiencies by, for example, limiting downtime through balancing the production line, forward planning and cost control management. This approach to mentoring has yielded some impressive turnaround figures, with average efficiency rates increasing from 35% to 75%, garment reject percentages being reduced from 45% to 3%, and 1104 jobs being sustained during 2004/5. These accomplishments have contributed significantly to increased sustainability and growth in the clothing and textile industry, especially at a time of escalating job losses and instability caused by global competition.
Secondly, CLOTEXs short courses are of an extremely high quality and standard. Attended by over 764 SMMEs during 2004/5, they vary in length ranging from one-day production planning courses to a six-month Business Management Programme. The training courses focus on a range of industry specific issues, including costing, middle management supervisory training, garment construction, pattern making and machine mechanics. They are presented by lecturers from leading Western Cape academic and business institutions, notably the UCT Graduate School of Business, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Bagraims Attorneys (Labour Law Specialists). And participants are drawn from varying backgrounds in terms of learning and experience, and business types - from small CMTs with one or two employees to big Design Houses and manufacturers, like the Foschini Group. In order to ensure that the diverse needs and requirements of delegates are satisfied, lecturers employ a range of learning styles and mediums of interaction.
The third success factor of CLOTEXs business development activities is the community projects and linkage programmes designed to develop and transfer entrepreneurial skills to various communities. In this area of work CLOTEX has distinguished itself through its ability to extend its efforts beyond the Cape Town Metropolitan area by forging strategic partnerships with community stakeholders. Projects undertaken over the past year have included a sewing project with Ipi Tombi Clothing, the only clothing manufacturer in Caledon (one of the areas in the province with high rates of unemployment), an industrial sewing project with Blue Bell Clothing in George (which was undertaken in collaboration with the George Municipality), and technical skills training to the Self Employed Workers Union in Gugulethu. Other communities that have benefited from CLOTEX interventions include: Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Mannenberg, Langa, Phillipi and Beaufort West.
Fourthly, CLOTEX has developed strong relationships with a number of leading Design Houses and manufacturers. This provides CMTs with a unique opportunity to gain access to mainstream manufacturers and to enter into supply contracts facilitated and monitored by CLOTEX. The work of CLOTEX is also valued highly by Design Houses, with Barry Cline, for example, declaring his preference for working with CMTs that are mentored and introduced to him by CLOTEX. This preference, he points out, is based on CLOTEX being often better than the rest. Moreover, the contracting of the services of a CLOTEX mentor by a prominent Salt River manufacturer to develop key performance indicators for cutters, machinists and finishers attests to the high regard in which CLOTEX is held by Design Houses and manufacturers.
Overall, the past year has recorded great successes for CLOTEX. But there is no room for complacency. The challenge now is to build on these successes and introduce new projects that proactively address the concerns highlighted by stakeholders during the course of the review. These include developing initiatives to reduce the high rates of absenteeism in the industry, creating efficient work supply arrangements between CMTs and Design Houses, tackling red tape and legal compliance issues that curtail the competitiveness of small businesses, and exploring innovative ways of leveraging financial support to the struggling industry.
<
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