August 5 – 23, 2017 Fashion Design and Ready Made Garments

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT) has established a program to train up to 18 specialists from the Eurasian fashion sector.

SABIT has successfully trained over 6,000 executives and scientists from Eurasia, South Asia, Northern Ireland, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. SABIT provides trainees the opportunity to become familiar with a U.S. industry sector and its regulations, make contacts to establish valuable business relationships, learn about innovative technologies, equipment, and services, and understand market-based business concepts.

The program will be up to two and a half weeks in length, beginning with one week of training which may include sessions on regulations, labor, legislation, standards, certification, business plan development, cross-cultural negotiations and management for both associations and global business. This will be complemented by site visits and meetings with fashion experts as well as a visit to the MAGIC trade show.

Applicants for this SABIT program must be in positions of significant decision-making responsibility in their employing organizations and have several years of industry experience to be considered for participation. The program will be conducted in English with a simultaneous translation into Russian. Participants must be fluent in either English or Russian!

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Applications must be accompanied by a letter from the candidate’s supervisor in his or her employing organization which contains the following: a description of the Applicant’s present duties, and permission for the Applicant to participate in the program.  If the applicant is the CEO or President of the organization, a letter of recommendation from a business partner with a brief description of joint projects should be attached to the application form. All documents should be in both English and Russian.  Do not attach a copy of your passport.  You will be asked to confirm that you have a valid international passport and, if selected for participation, you will be required to send a copy of the first page.  

Applicants are screened and selected by the U.S. Department of Commerce based on their professional and educational achievements and experience in specific industrial sectors. SABIT will make final determinations regarding the applicants are selected for training.  Those who are selected will be notified by the SABIT coordinators in Moscow or Kyiv. Knowledge of English is helpful but not necessary – two simultaneous interpreters will provide interpretation into Russian. Selected candidates should prepare a short presentation about their company prior to coming on the program.

Applicants should also insert a recent passport-sized photograph in the application.

Please be advised that the SABIT program will conduct a due diligence review of both you and your company via several different means, which may include web searches, credit bureau reporting agency searches, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the U.S. Department of Treasury, and other sources.  If there are any sanctions against you or your company or if there are any legal or ethical concerns found, you will not be considered for the program.  If you have already been invited, your invitation may be revoked or you may be terminated from the program if you are already in the United States.  This review is directed only at serious matters involving U.S. government sanctions, or serious legal or ethics issues, and has resulted in adverse action by the SABIT program only very rarely.

For those selected to participate in this program, the U.S. Government will arrange and pay for round-trip air travel from Istanbul, Kyiv, or Moscow to the United States, lodging, a comprehensive training program, emergency medical insurance, and a stipend of USD 400 to defray the costs for meals and incidental expenses. Each participant must provide his or her own transportation to the designated departure city and possess a valid international passport on which to travel.  Each participant will travel on a U.S. visa, which prohibits the receipt of a salary or honorarium. Participants are responsible for the cost of the U.S. visa and related expenses. SABIT participants may not seek permanent employment in the United States. Participants may not be accompanied by any family member(s).

Each participant will be required to share a hotel room with one other individual from the training group (of the same sex).

Any material misrepresentation on the part of the Applicant, either orally or in writing, will automatically be grounds for disqualification or expulsion from the program whether the participant is already selected or in the United States. By submitting this application you agree to the terms and conditions of the program.

APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN JUNE 2, 2017!

Applicants from Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Georgia, please send the complete set of documents (application and recommendation letter in English and Russian), preferably in one .pdf file, by email to the SABIT Program Coordinator in Kyiv, Nataliia Shknyeyeva, at Nataliia.Shknyeyeva@trade.gov