The chapter provides a comprehensive theoretical and conceptual framework and the empirical perspectives essential to studying industrialisation and workforce development in Africa, underpinned by four perspectives. First, the historical development of industrial capitalism shows that countries that underwent industrialisation faced similar complex challenges in building an industrial workforce, providing the historical context and essential concepts. Second, a perspective on industrialisation, industrial policy, and cluster ecosystems provides the perspective needed to understand the process of industrial development involving government policies, sectoral ecosystems, and firm behaviours. Third, the conceptual framework of the rise of global value chains and the shifting nature of foreign direct investment are critical to understanding firm performance and how they respond to workforce development. Fourth, the labour control regime approaches that focus on labour relation regimes, workforce development challenges, and human resource management practices provide a critical dimension on firms and labour. In addition, the chapter presents a literature review related to the global trends and national context of the Ethiopian apparel and textile sector, providing empirical perspectives. This chapter highlights the importance of building an industrial workforce for late industrialisers, particularly those transitioning from an agrarian economy like Ethiopia. It highlights that diverse experiences show how industrial policies could direct and manage foreign direct investment (FDI) to play a critical role in workforce development. Experiences have suggested that having an abundant and cheap labour force is not enough for late industrialisation; a highly skilled and productive workforce is the key to successful industrialisation.