Jale Daucakacaka 
Mark One Apparel
A leading figure in the manufacturing sector believes the coalition government is on the right track to achieving further economic growth.
Mark One Apparel Managing Director Mark Halabe says the recent National Economic Summit provided the right platform for the country’s leading minds to brainstorm and discuss medium-to-long-term solutions.
Halabe says the common challenge that many sectors are currently facing is the loss of skilled and semi-skilled labour, which can be seen in a positive light.
“The biggest one on everyone’s lips is the loss of workers and skills, but I like to see that as an opportunity that the nation has to refocus itself on training. There is a huge opportunity to keep training. We get about 20,000 students leaving schools every year, and we’re losing about 20,000 to migration, so the game for us is to train, train, and train to build up that skill base that we’re losing.”
Halabe says the manufacturing industry also faces hikes in production costs as investors are now hesitant due to the global crises from the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
