New Programme Aims to Curb Industrial Park Staff Turnover


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The Mastercard Foundation's BRIDGES Programme and its partners are looking to lower the staggeringly high turnover rates at industrial parks through the introduction of a saving and career development scheme. Dubbed 'Tatari,' the platform will match the savings deposited by industrial park employees at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), up to 10pc of monthly salaries for five years. At the end of the saving period, employees will have the option of withdrawing the funds to establish micro and small enterprises. The matching fund will be covered by the employing factories. Aiming to encourage employee retention and prevent staff turnover, which can reach as high as 50pc in a month and even 100pc in three months' time, the saving system was launched two weeks ago. The Mastercard Foundation will provide technical assistance, while First Consult has been chosen as a consulting firm for the project. Two factories inside Hawassa Industrial Park have already showed an interest to implement the project. Almost all industrial park employees are women, who come mostly from rural areas with agricultural backgrounds.


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