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Bridging Continents: Manual.to Supports Textile Training from North Carolina to Honduras
Published: February 29, 2024
February 15th, 2024 saw the launch of Hilando Oportunidades, a USAID-funded program to train 1,500 Honduran youth in technical textiles in Northern Honduras , marking a significant step in addressing unemployment and underemployment in the Northern Triangle region of Central America. Manual.to is proud to be the provider of the software used to bring this idea to life, allowing people to access the training in their native language and to follow at their own pace, in any location from the classroom to the shop floor.
Since 2019, we’ve been sponsoring a collaboration with North Carolina State University, focused on the documentation of the machines and the museum in the Wilson College of Textiles, helping train the next generation of textile designers and workers in the US.
In 2022, we were introduced to the Hilando Oportunidades project through Dr. Andre West, the Director of Zeis Textile Extension Wilson at the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. We were able to identify two key areas where Manual.to could help:
Education at NC State: At North Carolina State University (NC State), they provide education in the production of textiles. Everything from how to turn fibers into fabric to how to use the machinery involved. Manual.to plays a crucial role here because the manuals were originally text only and in English, but many of the students who will need them spoke other languages. Using artificial intelligence embedded in the Manual.to platform, they were able to instantly translate the manuals into any language, ensuring everyone could understand them. Every step in the production process has a short video showing how to perform that task. This way even the most complex of processes can be broken into easy to understand steps. This aligns with the way students learn at home, through short form video.
Supporting factories in Honduras: The factories in Honduras, where the students from NC State and local colleges will work, see the value in having similar kinds of manuals available. They are able to take the source materials created by NCSU and adapt them to suit their machinery with minimal changes. This helps to streamline their operating process and helps with machine maintenance and troubleshooting. This results in fewer stoppages and increased productivity. It also simplifies training, bringing people up to skill dramatically faster.
Over the past 18 months, students and staff at NCSU along with the Manual.to team, led by our Chief Commercial Officer Brian Aherne, worked with the NC State team to outline each step of the process and create the necessary manuals. This project shows the positive outcomes that can result from collaboration.
💡 You can find an example of one of their manuals here: ncsu.manual.to/manuar-final
Now that the project has been launched, we eagerly anticipate seeing its impact unfold. We also hope to expand this initiative to the other countries “The Northern Triangle:” Guatemala and El Salvador.
– Dr. Andre West, Director of Zeis Textiles Extension Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University
–Jorim Rademaker, CEO & Co- Founder at Manual.to
North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles received a grant in 2023 from USAID to launch Hilando Oportunidades, a program in Honduras aimed at training over 1,500 individuals in various textile skills like yarn spinning, knitting, dyeing, and apparel production. About 10,000 additional workers are expected to be needed in Honduras alone within the next five years due to significant investment.
This initiative will also focus on providing trackable credentials to empower workers and enhance supply chain security. Supported by the HUGE Textile Cluster and various industry stakeholders, the program brings together expertise from NC State, UNITEC, Gaston College, and Shimmy to address the growing demand for skilled textile workers in Honduras and the broader Central American region.
This effort not only strengthens international partnerships but also aligns with the goals of the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, highlighting the interconnectedness of the textile industries in North Carolina and Central America.
At Manual.to we are on a mission to digitise the world’s “know-how”, making the world smarter and accessible to all, in any geography and in any language. The end result? Dramatic improvements in productivity, employee engagement and retention, quality, safety and wellbeing.
Proud Microsoft Scaler alumni, and current Eviden Scaler participant, Manual.to has the support of some of the biggest companies in tech helping to reach our goal.
Step into the footsteps of Umicore, Recticel, P&G, ABB, Audi, Aperam, Telenet, Dupont, CEVA Logistics, STAS, Altachem, Lonza, MSD and many, many more.
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