ILO-Better Factories Cambodia organized a footwear meeting with representatives from various footwear factories and brands to introduce those factories to BFC’s monitoring, training and advisory services.
 
BFC is expanding its working scope into the footwear industry and is on its pilot program to monitor shoe factories starting from 2012. In its first year pilot program, nine factories are scheduled to be monitored. Starting in 2013, BFC will move beyond monitoring services in footwear, and introduce “bundled services” starting with monitoring and continuing through a year-long engagement in advisory services. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, there were 40 active footwear factories in 2011, employing 62,470 workers.

Jill Tucker, Chief Technical Advisor of ILO-Better Factories Cambodia, explained to the participants that BFC has a decade of experience in monitoring and training in the garment industry and has implemented capacity building for its staff to ensure rigorous monitoring and reporting in the footwear sector.