Historically, the majority of workers within the sector have been women, but significant job losses amongst female sewing machinists and in female administrative roles have reversed the trend. The overall gender profile of the sector is now evenly split, largely as a result of a continuing trend of job losses among female sewing machinists and administrative staff.

The traditional reliance on men for heavy manual tasks and for women in respect of tasks requiring manual dexterity, such as sewing, means that there are variations across the industries. For example:

• in process yarns/fibres, weaving, carpet manufacture and leather processing men account for at least 7 out of 10
• in apparel manufacture, made-up textiles and dry cleaning/laundries women are the majority
• in dry cleaning, laundry and textile servicing women are the majority (56:44), but women are over represented in sales/customer service and administrative roles

Source:  Skills Needs Assessment 2005a

The sector as a whole has an ageing demographic:

• less than one in ten of those employed are under the age of 25
• 73% of the workforce are aged 35 or over
• 30% of people working in the sector are aged 50 years or older

As people come to retirement age, there will be few people left to teach technical and craft skills to those coming in. The proportion of workers aged 50 and over is highest among Skilled Trades Occupations and Process Operatives, whereas 45% of 16-24 year olds employed by the sector fall into the elementary occupations category and are mostly employed as dry cleaners/launderers or in warehouse-related roles.

The apparel industry does not have a significant ageing workforce profile:

• just over a quarter of apparel manufacturing workers are aged 50 years or over, compared to 30% for the whole sector
• fewer than 1 in10 apparel workers are aged below 25

The technical textiles industry has an ageing workforce:

• almost one third of those working in the industry are 50 years of age or older, compared with the sector average of 25%
• 1 in 20 are under 25 years
• around 60% of organisations employ staff who are nearing retirement age and are expected to be difficult to replace

The knitting, lace and narrow fabrics industry has an ageing workforce:

• almost two-fifths of those working are 50 years of age or older, compared with the sector average of 25%
• one in twenty are under 25 years
• 80% of organisations report that they employ staff who are nearing retirement age

The dry cleaning, laundry and textile servicing industry has an aging workforce:

• one third of the workforce are aged 50 years and over

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

For age profile of the sector compared to the UK economy as a whole see:

The sector, and particularly the clothing and textiles industries, is recognised as being an area of considerable ethnic minority employment. Almost 75% of ethnic minority employment is made up of individuals who classify themselves as Asian or Asian British.

Ethnic minority owned (or part-owned) firms account for around 20% of the sector’s company base and are concentrated within specific industries and localities. The highest incidence of ethnic minority ownership is in London (40%). It is estimated that more than 25% of wholesale and trading businesses are owned or part-owned by a member of an ethnic minority group.

For more information on ethnic minority ownership by region see the regional dimension.

The manufacturing and servicing elements of the sector employ approximately 30,000 people with an ethnic minority background, accounting for 11% of total employment.

In apparel manufacture, members of ethnic minority groups account for more than a fifth of total employment, and in made-up textiles represent up to two fifths of the total.

13% of people in the knitting, lace and narrow fabrics industry are drawn from an ethnic minority group, with Asian/Asian British the most heavily represented group.

In the dry cleaning, laundry and textile servicing industry, 13% of the industry are from an ethic minority background, with Asian/Asian British heavily represented.

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a and Skills Needs Assessment – knitting, lace and narrow fabrics 2005a

There is an apparent lack of data concerning people with disabilities in the sector.