A new partnership between educational institutions in the US and Honduras has been forged to facilitate the continued reshoring of textile and apparel production to the US and Central America.
The agreement: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between North Carolina State University, Gaston College, and Catawba Valley Community College in the US and Universidad Technologica Centroamericana in Honduras highlights “the need for a skilled, capable, resilient workforce to support a rapidly growing textile industry in the region of the Northern Triangle of Central America.”
- Between the textile programmes offered by Gaston, CVCC, and NC State, which range from certificate-based training to advanced degrees, and the engineering and technical education offered by UNITEC, the MoU states that “these partners have the capability to deliver the training and education necessary” to develop such a workforce.
The institutions have agreed to collaborate in the areas of
- professional training courses in textiles to be jointly marketed and delivered online and in Honduras,
- certificate programs for academic credit,
- associate, bachelor’s, and graduate degree programs in textile-related areas of study,
- funding for scholarships, fellowships, and internships, and
- future collaborations outside of textile programmes.
The backdrop: The US State Department said the MoU will strengthen supply chain security and integration as US companies make significant investments in developing co-production facilities in the region.
- Last fall US trade officials met textile executives to discuss their role in diversifying production in light of concerns about “the unreliability of geographically-extended supply chains and the pervasiveness of forced labour.”
The reactions:
- The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) said there has been “a significant shift in sourcing out of Asia to the US and the region” in recent years, where nearly $1 billion in textile and apparel investment is anticipated this year alone.
- The Coalition for Economic Partnerships in the Americas has called for “building more resilient supply chains and reducing reliance on China” by liberalising apparel rules of origin under CAFTA-DR and improving apparel production capacity among partner countries in that agreement.
