KOLKATA: Credo Centre of Excellence, in partnership with the Apparel Skill Council, has unveiled the "first" fashion incubation centre in the country in Kolkata to boost the Rs 40,000 crore textile industry of West Bengal, an official said.

"This is the first fashion incubation centre in India and the first PPP model centre approved by the Apparel Made Ups Home Furnishing Sector Skill (AMHSSC) Council under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The council has three more centres in Gurugram, Guwahati, and Tripura, which carry out basic tailoring training and are fully owned by the government," Pinaki Roychowdhury, trustee of the Credo Foundation, said.

West Bengal has a huge number of MSME-based garment manufacturing but exports are less due to a lack of modern manufacturing, design and supply chain ecosystem.

Speaking on the occasion, Padmashree awardee and chairman of AMHSSC, A Sakthivel, said, "The goal of this programme is to support innovation and skill development in home furnishing and apparel manufacturing sectors."

"The primary responsibility of the centre of excellence is to improve the abilities of workers in the clothing, makeup, and home furnishings industries by offering top-notch training. We hope to close the skill gap in the sector and provide employees with the know-how needed to flourish in their positions," Sakthivel said.

Roychowdhury claimed that Credo will offer incubation support, which includes incorporating a firm, assisting in designing, manufacturing, and market access support for at least 2-4 years to the entrepreneurs until they reach a critical mass to move on their own.

"Credo's multiple hybrid fashion design and entrepreneurship programmes combine online studies with hands-on offline skilling, providing a modern and relevant medium for skill acquisition followed by industrial internship and entrepreneurship through its fashion business incubation programme," said Dominic Savio, principal of St. Xavier's College Kolkata.