ANALYSIS OF PERSONNEL TRAINING METHODS FOR THE NEEDS OF SEWING ENTERPRISES

Abstract

The article addresses one of the most significant challenges faced by Ukrainian businesses today – the labor market personnel shortage for fulfilling orders, which is continually exacerbated by the citizens outflow as refugees, internal displacement, and the mobilization of the male population. The analysis includes current research on the attitudes of SMEs and the labor market  conducted for international organizations, which corroborate the authors' conclusions about the critical importance of the labor shortage issue. The article presents findings from an original study conducted in the autumn of 2022 among manufacturing companies in the sewing industry, revealing a need for at least 10,000 workers. It also discusses qualitative  research results, including conclusions about the state of the sewing industry and practical recommendations for international and governmental organizations to enhance labor productivity, disseminate innovations, and address the workforce deficit in the sewing sector. These recommendations could also be implemented by medium and large businesses or through the  collective efforts of SMEs. The article examines three stages of the proposed approach approbation: establishing training centers for seamstresses from the initial pilot launch, to center furnishing, and scaling up to 10 centers in the western and northern regions of Ukraine in companies of varying sizes. The experiences of each company are analyzed and summarized,  presenting a grouped analysis of the challenges and issues encountered during the establishment or operation of the training centers. The potential of the approach to establish training centers directly based within manufacturing companies in the sewing industry is demonstrated. In the concluding section, the article outlines three additional approaches for addressing the  labor shortage issue, which can be applied alongside scaling the aforementioned approach, including process automation and the implementation of artificial intelligence tools, the recruitment of migrants from other countries, and the creation of conditions for the return of refugees to Ukraine.