FBCCI President Md Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin) has said the country's apparel industry needs to make a balance between adopting new technologies and creating jobs.
"Many of our workers lost their jobs due to introduction of new technologies, and we have to make a balance in this regard," he said at a programme in the capital on Monday.
The president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said the country has a substantial number of young people, who enter job markets every year, and they need employment.
He said apparel sector, the largest export-earner of the country, must create ample employment facilities for them as well as also adopt various new technologies simultaneously.
The apex trade-body chief warned the industry stakeholders that if the unemployed people do not get jobs, there is a possibility of brewing rage and resentment.
"If we fail to provide necessary jobs to them, they will explode," he added.
He said these while speaking at the concluding ceremony of the daylong Bangladesh Fashionology Summit at Bashundhara International Convention Center. Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) organized the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, BGMEA former president Atiqul Islam said many challenges are coming, as the fashion and textile sectors are changing every day.
"Many challenges are unknown to the industry, but we have to know these challenges. We have to update ourselves and embrace new technologies," he opined.
Ambassador of the Netherlands in Dhaka Leoni Cuelenaere, and Pacific Jeans Director Syed M Tanvir, among others, spoke at the programme.
A total of 17 renowned speakers from 11 countries across the world participated in the first-ever fashion and technology summit in the country and discussed about latest apparel products, technologies and innovations that will shape up the future of the industry.
The speakers shared their opinions in four sessions of the summit - factory of the future, virtual reality and digitalization of supply chain, fashion tech and sustainable innovation, and mass customization on demand manufacturing.
BAE Founder and CEO Mostafiz Uddin said: "By organizing the Bangladesh Fashionology Summit we've endeavoured to bridge the gap between the present and the future of Bangladesh apparel and textile industry through technology, innovation and knowledge sharing."
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