The Sarathi project, an initiative of Swisscontact, aims to enhance the financial well-being of RMG workers by advocating for personalised financial services and upskilling opportunities.
Partnering with RBC, the project has introduced supervisory training in nine factories across six garment manufacturer groups in Bangladesh. It targets low-skilled workers, with a special emphasis on women.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The initiative not only equips women with technical skills but also fosters a supportive environment for career progression within factory ecosystems.
Maneesha Sharma, RBC co-founder, described the RBC’s approach in its Sarathi Project. She said: “We at RBC believe in the process of knowledge sharing and educating beyond universities and creating learning opportunities inside the factories for upskilling and career progression.
“If we can provide cutting-edge skills to the workforce, their new capabilities will be evident, and their career progression is a logical outcome.”
See Also:
One example of the scheme’s success is Suborna Shil, an Ananta garment worker who transitioned from being an operator to a supervisor of a sewing line after undergoing supervisory development training by Rajesh Bheda Consulting (RBC) under the Sarathi project.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData“We ended up creating what we think is a new breed of empowered women,” said Bipasha S. Hossain, team leader at Sarathi. “These women were learning to recognise their voices, and believe that they could also, like men, take up supervisory and managerial roles.
“We just didn’t train these women but also sensitised the management, HR, mid-management, workers, male supervisors everybody in the factory ecosystem.”
Sarathi project: Women’s role in Bangladesh’s garment industry
The success of the Sarathi project is evident in the transformation of 119 women operators who have been promoted into supervisor roles within ten months. These women are not only excelling in their new roles but are also driving improvements in productivity and quality within their factories.
The IE manager of a partner factory said: “Earlier I thought that the women supervisors would not be able to work as effectively. Now, after having the Sarathi-trained supervisors on my floor, I see that they are more enthusiastic and dedicated towards their job. I want to work with more women supervisors on the floor.”
Despite women constituting a significant portion of the workforce in Bangladesh’s garment industry, their representation in supervisory positions remains low at 5-6%. Societal norms, gender stereotypes, and limited training opportunities hinder their upward mobility.
Recognising these barriers, Sarathi strategically focuses on upskilling initiatives, particularly for women, to enhance their employability and long-term job security.
“I always used to say that for me, my dream of becoming a supervisor is worthy of everything,” said another factory worker Josna. “It’s not just about the salary but about my self-confidence and identity. There was some nervousness in the beginning about how to calculate capacity, manage production, etc., but RBC has trained us so well that it all became very easy.”
The establishment of skills development centres and the training of 66 workers, 42 of them women have further bolstered the upskilling efforts, supporting productivity and quality improvement of the factories.
Rajesh Bheda, co-founder of RBC and formerly a professor and chairperson at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, India, said: “Sarathi project has strengthened much-needed evidence about the value of having more women in supervisory positions.
“It is gratifying to contribute to improving the participation of women in supervisory positions from 12% to 22% in the participating factories.”
Looking ahead, the Sarathi project envisions a significant increase in women’s participation in supervisory and managerial roles within the garment industry.
“The day is not far when we would see women operators trained as supervisors and skills trainers reaching managerial positions in Bangladesh garment industry,” added Bheda.
In February, VF Foundation, the private grant-making organisation funded by VF Corporation expanded its partnership with women-owned social enterprise Shimmy Technologies to upskill around 1,300 workers in the apparel value chain, following the success of its pilot.
