Textiles Seeks to Recruit 20,000 Workers
- August 2, 2022
- Posted by: Bazart
- Categories: News, Textile industrie
Morocco recovers orders initially intended for China, Egypt and Tunisia. Participants in the “Zoom by Fatex” exhibition in Paris returned with firm and urgent orders.
Despite an uncertain recovery of the global economy in 2011, the national textile sector seems to return to a steady growth, since its exit from the trough, after the first quarter of 2010. After ending the year 2010 by stabilizing its figures at 28.5 billion DH of exports, the sector begins 2011 on the hats of wheels. The latest edition of “Zoom by Fatex”, a trade fair for subcontracting and textiles, held in Paris from 8 to 10 February, was somewhat unusual for Moroccan manufacturers. The twenty-nine clothing companies present at the show were, says a participant, “besieged by foreign contractors who want to place, at any cost, their orders. This pressure from contractors, who had somewhat turned away since 2007, Morocco in favor of China, is explained, according to the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries (Amith), by the new strategy focusing on the domestic market adopted by this country.
In addition, there is an economic fact. “Many customers have canceled orders placed in Tunisia and Egypt and want to realize them in Morocco,” said the head of a company present at Fatex. This same source emphasizes that companies have returned with firm orders. This is the case of the Mosaic Consortium which includes four companies (Interlinge, Cabilux, Dounitex and VetWear) specializing in women’s ready-to-wear and lingerie, corsetry and swimwear. According to Boubker Idrissi Qaitouni, CEO of Interlinge, a member of the Consortium, these companies have received large orders to be completed within one or two months. Abdelmoula Ratib, boss of the eponymous group, confirms the influx of donors. He adds that “the group Ratib which exports 70% of its production to Europe and 30% to the U.S. has had to, due to lack of capacity, refuse orders for several million pieces.
For this boss and many other industrialists, Morocco is now a serious alternative for customers, even if, according to a former president of the Amith, “the return of major European brands is feverish and this transfer of interest to Morocco can change at any time depending on events in various regions of the world.
Néanmoins, les industriels sont décidés à mobiliser les moyens pour profiter de l’aubaine. En effet, ils risquent d’être très vite submergés et les pouvoirs publics ont été saisis à ce sujet. Car, au-delà des problèmes de capacité que le secteur a pu, plus ou moins maintenir, en évitant la fermeture d’unités, grâce notamment aux mesures d’urgence initiées par l’Etat en 2009, le plus crucial aujourd’hui est de trouver de la main-d’œuvre qualifiée pour répondre à la demande, «faute de quoi les commandes perdues seront placées ailleurs et un client de perdu est difficile à retrouver», explique un industriel. Il faut rappeler qu’en 2009 et au premier trimestre de 2010, les estimations officielles avaient fait état de la perte de 10 000 emplois dans le secteur du textile-habillement, en raison de la crise en Europe qui avait impacté plusieurs unités, notamment à Rabat et à Fès, beaucoup d’ouvriers ont migré vers le Nord ou se sont orientés vers d’autres activités industrielles comme l’automobile ou encore l’agroalimentaire. Or, cette main-d’œuvre perdue manque cruellement aujourd’hui. Selon les estimations de l’Amith, le secteur a besoin de 20 000 personnes à court terme…
An emergency plan to train 10,000 workers…
With the Office of Vocational Training and Promotion of Work (OFPPT), Amith is preparing the implementation of an accelerated training over the next three months to meet labor needs.
According to a survey recently conducted by the association, the sector has an immediate need for 10,000 workers. The survey reveals that it is in Casablanca, Fez and Tangier that the deficit is more important. It also stressed that the needs are on specific profiles including skilled seamstresses, heads of chain and heads of workshops. The training will also involve machine operators with multi-skilled training. In addition to the 10,000 workers to be trained immediately, the plan of the OFPPT includes a second batch of 10,000 people to be trained in the second quarter of 2011.
To support the office’s plan, several companies are also developing apprenticeship training centers (CFA) that provide on-the-job training for specific needs. These structures cover a population of 30 to 40 apprentices per company who are ready to take over if the workers leave.
Finally, and in parallel to the training plan, Amith discusses with the government the establishment of an economic model to regenerate production capacity destroyed by the crisis, explains Mohamed Tazi, deputy director of Amith. The extension will be done, continues Mr. Tazi, by redeploying capacity in small cities. This is the example of industrialists in the city of Fez who are thinking of relocating some production lines in small towns in the region such as Sefrou, Taounate, Guercif or Taza. The companies are committed to supply orders to these relocated units to be created by them or those of former leaders in the framework of the spin-off.