Boosting the apparel sector industry in Kosovo!

With talented young designers joining Kosovo's apparel industry, and hundreds of them studying the field of fashion design, the sector is steadily growing by the day. Kosovo's apparel manufacturing industry once dominated the country, but it began dwindling after 1999 when the largest factories closed. As the manufacturing industry makes a comeback, the need for capacity and skill-building in product lines is not going unnoticed. In the absence of financial resources and limited training institutions, tailoring, sewing, patronage, quality assurance experts, and production management skills are limited.

There are many SMEs and NGOs in Kosovo that provide training for women, as well as many companies that need skilled employees. There is, however, a lack of cooperation and formal job-matching services that employers and job seekers can access. A good example of this is NGO Bardha, a non-profit that delivers basic tailoring skills training in Kosovo, and ARTA tex, a textile manufacturing company that is always looking for skilled workers. Through a recent partnership, the FEGO project has supported the training of 10 women to learn the basics of tailoring, design, creative work, and the use of industrial machinery, which is being offered by NGO Bardha. The trained women, who were not previously employed, are then offered an employment opportunity at the Arta Tex manufacturing company. This is because the skills they will develop through training will ease their access to jobs in the apparel sector. Additionally, both actors will establish a bridge of cooperation and continue developing the business model. Through this support, the Fostering Employment and Growth Opportunities (FEGO) aims to foster linkages between private sector companies and training institutions. FEGO seeks to create systemic changes within sectors through the facilitation of access and enhancement of workforce skills development and boosting productivity, to generate employment opportunities for women, especially in rural areas.