Kathmandu, Jan. 19: Women who went through a 3-month skill development training have not been able to use their new skills on a commercial basis.
They are of the opinion that such a short training is unable to impart adequate knowledge and competancy to launch their products in the market for sale and run a small industry.
Ram Devi Shrestha, a residence of Sarlahi VDC ward No 50 can sew dresses required for his own family after completing a 3-month sewing and cutting training. She however, has not been endowed with skills sufficient for running a tailoring establishment independently.
Trainee Rita Shaha thought that the 3-month course is only suitable for imparting general knowledge and it can no longer established one on a vocatinal footing.
What almost all trainees think is that the duration of training needs to be extended, the trainees familiarised with modern equipment and better trainers provided.
But the women trainers who set out for different villages of the Terai region have their own grievances. The village development committe should protect them and refrain from creating any obstructions in their work or play other political games, they said.
In Sarlahi district alone, a cottage and small industry office has trained some 120 persons in different subjects through 29 training programmes since 2051 BS.
Of them, 84 are female and the rest male. Statistics show that women are in the forefront of such activities.
They need extensive training for building up compentence in any given particular field, chief of the Malangawa district office Krishna Bahadur Karki said.
Loans are made available at the recommendation of the office for cottage and small industries.
Statistics reveal that 30 per cent of the trained persons have been working elsewhere while 14 per cent are involved in self-employement. Another 16 per cent works on wage basis.
The Ninth Plan has targetted bringing 100 thousand people under a wide range of skill development training programmes. With the study of markets, employment is expected to be generate for an additional 200 thousand people.
During the 8th plan, some 52 thousand people went through such training. During the period, around 43 thousand cottage and small industries have been registered as against a target of 25 thousand cottage and 1000 small industries.
The Ninth Plan aims at promoting small industries that can generate self employment, making licencing and registration procedures flexible and simple, conducting training in management and indroducing a programme package with techincal support for creating employment in the non agriculture sector in order to raise income levels and the purchasing capacity of rural people.
Such entrepreneurship is of high necessity in the context of Nepal, as they take one towards self reliance with the help of just limited capital and locally available resources.
The cottage and small industry sector has contributed 65 per cent to total export and 58 per cent to total value addition. Of the total industrial sector, this sub sector accounts for 95 per cent.
The Nepali textile and cottage enterprise extension office was esteblished in 1993 B.S as a result of the government’s endeavour to bring about industrial consciousness through the propagation of cottage industry. Due to this instutitional initiative in the course of time the persent day Cottage and Small Industry Development Department, cottage industry committee and industrial enterprises development academy are involved in this field throough their branches across the country.
The industrial policy 2049 and Industrial Enterprises Act 2049 have also laid emphasis on the development of cottage and agro-based industries based on local means and resources.
Statistics show that the number of such industries operated throughout the country was 376,332 in 2030 B.S., 103, 710 in 2044/45 and 46,419 in 2049 B.S. This sector has witnessed a declining trend due to deviation from the defination and lack of coordination between the line agencies.
The technology being applied in such industry to date is of subsistance nature and fails to maintain quality and costs at desire levels. Consequently, such industries are unable to keep abreast of products of foreign origin.
Experts are of the opinion that it is too late to bring in suitable and low cost technology and familiarise entrepreneurs with it. Shortfalls are also felt on the part of the affiliated bodies in the variety of training programmes.
Trainings in different subjects has been provided to some 22 thousand people and this year the aim is to cover 26 thousand individuals.
The subject matters of the training are also being expanded and modified as per the changed context. The number of subjects in 2054/55 was 27 and 71 in 2054/55. But the indespensible factor is that there should be availability of competent trainers to make the training result oriented.
Women development and other income generation schemes are also being carried out at local level under the heading of small entreprises.
It is believed that the training porgrammes can be conducted smoothly through accumulation of funds from the District Development Committees and other non-governmenal organisations. The DDC has sufficient budget allocated for this purpose.
It is also felt that training in marketing should be conducted for the staff of handicaft sales centre and retail outlets in different districts in order to make them competitive.
The producers should link up with such retail outlets so that they need not depend on intermediaries for selling their products and buyers need not wander in search of such products.
To encourage the trainees, they should be provided loans at minimum insterest through banks and other financial institutions in an easier way, chief of office Krishna Bahadur Karki says.
There is a need for mobilising the Cottage and Small Industry Department and Cottage Industry Committee as administrative units for training and the Industrial Enterprises Development Academy as a technology and business information centre, the experts say.