Job prospects in furniture sector

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Francis De Silva | Published: May 11, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

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The furniture industry of Bangladesh has the potential to emerge as a large employment generating sector if local training institutes can adapt to meet the changing demand. Comprising some 71,000 enterprises (micro, small and medium) and employing about 1.8 million people the furniture industry earned revenue of US$ 277 million in 2011-12 and has grown at 19 per cent since then. [ILO Report, Strategy Planning for Sector Development Focusing on Skill Issues for Furniture Sector by Professor Dr. M. Kamal Uddin, February 2015.] But there is one huge constraint to future growth: the lack of skilled labour available for employment.
Part of the labour challenge is the changing nature of the work.  Traditionally furniture was built by a single carpenter who would make an entire table.  He would cut the wood, shape it, polish it, assemble it and finally lacquer it.  This method is being replaced by assembly line production as the industry grows.  The largest factories have switched to modern technology and equipment that requires specific machine operation skills.  To meet this changing demand, a new curriculum has been developed by the Furniture Industry Skills Council, the Furniture Associations and the International Labour Organisation's Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) project with support from the Canadian government.  The standards of this curriculum are in line with the new National Training Vocational Quality Framework. This is to ensure that the quality of skilled labour meets industry demands.  
Traditional TVET (technical and vocational education and training) carpentry classes have often run below capacity and have even closed down because trained carpenters were not able to sell their skills in the market.  Now that demand from the furniture industry is growing, furniture factory owners through the industry skills council are encouraging TVET institutions to reopen carpentry classes, using the updated curriculum.  TVET institutions tend to have very old machines.  Modernising these institutions and building the capacity of trainers to teach the new curriculum are therefore a priority.  
The private sector is playing its role. In a pilot programme, the Akhtar Furniture Academy trained 120 underprivileged women using the newly developed standards and curriculum which cover four trades in the furniture industry - carpentry, lacquer polishing, wood working machine operation and upholstery work.  Established in 2011, the academy has already trained 1,000 people.
Some of the challenges the academy identified were around building the capacity of trainers and assessors in the new NTVQF system (there is not yet any teacher training curriculum) and their endorsement by the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB).  These issues need to be streamlined quickly to meet the growing demand.  
For those who have missed out on formal schooling, there are opportunities to engage in apprenticeship.  An apprenticeship is a unique form of vocational education, combining on-the-job learning and school-based training. Industry leaders, Nadia Furniture Factory and Brothers Furniture Factory, have initiated formal apprenticeship programmes as have many smaller enterprises.  These programmes need to be scaled up to meet the growing demand.
Traditionally the furniture sector has been male dominated. This too is changing. The ILO is supporting the training of women and persons with disabilities in 'non-traditional occupations' such as carpentry and upholstery in the furniture sector. However, awareness building is still needed especially amongst families to motivate women and persons with disabilities to follow this path. Inviting women and persons with disabilities to visit the factories, assigning mentors to guide them and guaranteeing jobs after training are measures that can help overcome social barriers.   
Abdul Karim Mazumdar, Furniture Industry Skills Council General Secretary and M.D. of Nadia Furniture Limited, says with pride, that within five years his sector will create about one million jobs.  Now it is up to all the stakeholders involved to ensure that one million young people are trained and ready with the skills necessary to meet this demand.
Francis DeSilva is a Senior Skills Development Specialist, Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh.
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