The qualification profile of the sector workforce has shifted markedly upwards in recent years, suggesting that qualifications and skills requirements are increasing.

The share of total staff qualified at Level 4 has grown by four percentage points since 2000 to 7%. Managers, professionals and associate professionals account for 80% of those qualified to Level 4 or above within the sector.

31% of the workforce has a Level 3 qualification. Only 45% of managers hold a Level 3 qualification or higher compared to 61% of managers across the economy.

The proportion of staff holding qualifications at Level 2 and above has increased to 37%.

26% of the workforce has a Level 1 qualification.

At the other end of the spectrum, the proportion of staff with no qualifications has fallen by six points to 27%. Key statistics for the workforce with no qualifications are:

• 35% of workers aged 50 years and above hold no qualifications compared with 22% of 25-49 year olds
• 42% for ethnic minorities, compared to 27% of white workers
• 44% of those employed in operative or elementary occupations

Source: Sector Qualifications – draft strategy 2005, Assessment of current education and training provision – draft 2005c and Market Assessment for apparel, footwear, textiles and related businesses 2004b

For qualification profile of the sector workforce see:

There are 328 sector relevant courses available across the UK at degree and post-graduate level, offered by 76 institutions, including:

• around 45% of the available courses have a specific design focus
• 60% address aspects of the fashion industry, including fashion marketing and fashion/design management

There is widespread availability of Foundation Degree programmes with 53 sector-relevant programmes offered by 34 institutions across England.

The NVQ infrastructure in England is now limited in terms of its size and the scope of its coverage, with particular industries reliant on small numbers of centres or, in some cases, no centres at all.

Source: Assessment of current education and training provision – draft 2005c

The fashion design industry is an attractive option for many young people who are attracted to the ‘creative’ side of the clothing industry. Around 10,000 people were enrolled on textiles/fashion/clothing design courses in UK Higher Education institutions alone as of 2003/04 academic year, and the number of entrants into design degree courses is growing. However, there is a shortage of skilled graduates with technical skills.

It is estimated that the output of graduates in these disciplines is around 3,500 per year, yet the total number of designers actually employed in the sector is approximately 8,000. There are too many graduates for very few jobs, making it a competitive industry. Employers report that personality and commitment are key factors when considering potential graduate recruits.

Many young designers fail to get a job and leave the industry as fashion design-based courses have little technical content (eg. pattern-cutting and garment construction), and commercial and production knowledge to produce designs that work for manufacturers. In addition, employers routinely report unrealistic expectations among students.

In the design industry, graduate entrants agree that higher education design courses need to provide graduates with a broader range of skills to enable them to make a more effective contribution to the industry. A number of businesses and educational institutions highlight a need for greater interaction between students and the industry. Work placements are perceived to be too short or at too menial a level, or to lack a sufficient element of mentoring. There is the expectation that pure creative skills will be sufficient  to sustain in a career in the industry; whereas in reality a base of technical skills would greatly broaden the range of careers opportunities open to students.

Source: Sectoral background from Skillfast-UK 2006 and Skills Needs Assessment 2005a

The sector as a whole does not, traditionally, use off-the-job training. Most training takes place within the company - either in individual tuition or in small groups.

The lack of off-the-job training may be linked to the predominance of small businesses in the sector which have the constraints of time and money preventing them from training their staff using off-the-job methods.

Technical textiles companies show a relatively high level of commitment to training and development with approximately 80% reporting that training is funded/arranged for their workforce. However, a shortage of specialised and advanced courses on a regional, and even national level, is a major barrier to skills development within the industry. A key gap is courses dealing with basic and advanced textiles technology.

80% of organisations in the knitting, lace and narrow fabrics industry fund/arrange training and a significant proportion has structured mechanisms to support training and development. Approximately 40% of organisations have a training budget. The incidence of training varies by occupational group:  66% of organisations involved in training arrange training for their operative staff, whilst only 20% provide training for craft workers/skilled trades. In-house provision is the dominant delivery mechanism for training, particularly operative technical training.

Just over a third of organisations in the leather processing industry believe there are specific skills areas for which it is difficult to source external education and training provision. These gaps in provision include:

• leather technology and leather processing training (companies in the industry formerly received significant technical support from suppliers of chemicals)
• specialist courses – e.g. vegetable tanning, materials training relating to sheepskins.

Around a third of employers, in the process yarns and fibres and weaving industries, believe that there are gaps in the range of training available. Gaps in training provision are noted for specific technical production areas, including: technical dyeing, textile colour chemistry; processing of fibre, carding; and darning, warping, weaving, mending.

The key barriers to training in the dry cleaning, laundry and textile servicing industry are: time; cost of external courses and staff cover; relevance and flexibility of courses on offer; lack of S/NVQs and associated funding; staff reluctant to participate; and lack of basic skills among staff restricting ability to participate.

The majority of organisations in the sector face barriers to training, including:

• the impact on production of staff being released for training, both as instructors and as trainees
• the cost of purchasing external courses
• the lack of relevant courses, particularly in specialist technical areas
• reluctance of employees to participate in training, particularly in their own time

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a and Skills Needs Assessment – industry reports 2005a

70% of organisations in apparel manufacturing have funded/arranged training for their workforce. Training in the industry focuses on core production skills, plus health and safety, and is delivered in-house. In a minority of instances training is linked to an NVQs. The extent to which formal qualifications are required in the industry varies between individual employers. In most instances employers rely on evidence of practical knowledge, experience, manual aptitude and, in the case of junior roles “commonsense” and basic literacy and numeracy.

Around 50% of design businesses reported that they have funded or arranged training. Businesses in thus industry are most likely to invest in training and development, particularly technical design skills, for established staff. Management, business and marketing skills are also a major focus of education and training activity. Much of the development activity undertaken involves on the job coaching and learning and the use of in-house resources.

Two thirds of establishments in the dry cleaning, laundry and textiles servicing industry have arranged or funded training for their workforce.  Most establishments carry out some form of training needs assessment.  In-house delivery accounts for a large proportion of the training delivered.  Technical training is met by specialist independent and group training providers, whist generic skills training (including management, customer handling and inter-personal skills) are typically delivered by local independent trainers.  Suppliers of machinery and chemicals also play an important role in developing the knowledge and skills directly associated with their products.

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a

The sector has changed quickly so it is difficult to get an understanding of the common characteristics of manufacturing organisations, or likely career paths and progression routes. Skillfast-UK recognises that it needs to show careers advisers the technical and scientific aspect of the industries and the opportunities for engineers, electricians and IT people. Issues identified by Skillfast-UK include:

• There is little material relating to the sector and a comprehensive picture is missing.
• There is little, or no, commonality of job titles across the sector for comparability.
• Careers advisers, teachers and other influencers on career choice may have a narrow view of the careers offered by the sector. For example, fashion designer may be perceived to be unachievable and sewing machinist will be considered undesirable. A more accurate representation of the sector is needed.
• There is a need to educate young people on the challenges of a career in design, and the need to choose courses with a high level of technical and commercial content, in addition to creative opportunity.
• The least skilled jobs in the sector are now in China.
• The sector contributes to many industries of the future, including: aerospace; transport industries; performance clothing; and medical care.
• Employers in the sector are prepared to pay for skilled individuals of good intelligence and education.
• There is a need to challenge employers on gender role stereotypes, and encourage HR practice – especially with relation to attracting and retaining young people.

Skillfast-UK is planning to address many of these issues in the near future.

Source:  Sectoral background provided by Skillfast-UK 2006

For more information on future changes in education and training specific to the sector see: