Vlisco trains young women in fashion design
An integrated educational programme tailored at providing talented, underprivileged, yet motivated girls with the needed skills to operate with African fabrics has been launched at a ceremony in Tema.
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The programme, dubbed: the Vlisco Tailored Academy, is a year-long activity involving 14 women. Eleven of them are from the Northern Region and the remaining three from the Greater Accra Region. The programme will end in August 2015.
In her address at the launch, Mrs Joyce Ababio, Chief Executive Officer of Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design the college had tied its know-how in fashion education to the business activities of the Vlisco group.
According to her, investments in the African fashion industry had the controlling influence to empower young women to become movers and shakers of the economy.
She said through the Vlisco group, the fashion industry in Africa would connect Africa’s fashion talent and creativity with the fine tapestry of fabrics that would be the envy of the fashion world.
The Managing Director of L’aine Services, Mrs Ellen Hagan, who was last year’s winner of the Vlisco Women’s Month Award and is now a patron of the Vlisco Tailored Academy, urged the women to have faith, courage and the determination that their dreams would be realised.
She said, “We need to have a mentality that would drive us to achieve our dreams and make us assume leadership roles, dare to be different and force a change where necessary.”
Mrs Hagan urged the young women to step out of their comfort zones and be trailblazers.
She also reminded them to acknowledge that women’s empowerment revolved around learning, labour and leadership.
The Managing Director of Vlisco, Mr Kofi Boateng, said the young women would realise their dreams at the end of the programme.
He urged them to see the programme as an opportunity for them to project themselves and the image of the two institutions offering them the training.
Tour of printing facility
The beneficiaries were given an opportunity to tour the Ghana Textile Printing Company (GTP) to have a first-hand experience of the printing of Vlisco fabrics.
A number of the women under training told the Daily Graphic of their appreciation for the opportunity offered them and promised to do their best.
They also assured the managers of the programme of their readiness and commitment to ensure that investments made for their welfare would achieve dividends.