Employment in the sector is declining, and is predicted to decline further through to 2014. More than half of all full-time jobs have been lost from this sector over the last 10 years. Over the next 10 years, employment is expected to decline further by more than 85,000 (24%).  An estimated 114,000 people will be needed between 2004-2014 to maintain the existing workforce skills.

22% of employment in the sector is part-time, below the UK economy average. Similar to the UK average, self-employment in the sector is 15% of total employment. However, there will be a continued decline in employment averages around 5% per annum. Employment in niche and technical activities has the best prospects.

The sector is dominated by small and medium sized organisations:

• more than 80% of organisations have 10 employees or fewer
• 1% of sites with more than 200 employees account for approximately one-fifth of total employment

While the sector continues to decline, the total requirement is forecast to be positive for the next decade. Recruitment equivalent to less than 1-in-5 of current employment is required over the next 10 years.

The decline in employment levels will be the result of:

• the contraction of manufacturing employment as low cost foreign competition squeezes the margins of UK firms leading to a continued trend towards overseas sourcing
• labour productivity growth in both the manufacturing and wholesale/trading elements of the sector, putting additional pressure on employment

In the servicing of apparel, footwear and textiles approximately 70,000 people are employed; the majority are in laundries and dry cleaning.  Employment is distributed geographically, but concentrations of employment are in London and the South East.

Source: Working Futures 2006, Skills Needs Assessment 2005a, Market Assessment 2004b and Foundation Degree Sectoral Frameworks – servicing 2004

For more information on employment levels and shares, plus trends in workforce employment status see:

The total output of the UK sector has fallen significantly in recent years, as a result of the contraction of the sector’s manufacturing activity. The sector has a total output of almost £10 billion. However, the wholesale and servicing sub-sectors have seen output growth. The manufacture of made-up textiles is the sole manufacturing industry within the sector to have increased output.

The recent productivity performance of the sector has been positive. Sector productivity is now higher than the average for the UK economy as a whole. The following industries saw the most positive performance:

• made-up textiles
• trading and wholesale
• dry cleaning & textile/leather servicing.

The contribution of exports to total sales has increased significantly over the last 5 years. Success in export markets will be critical to the sector’s future.

The UK sector is poorly positioned in terms of its ability to compete on the basis of price in the global marketplace. There is a shifting emphasis towards higher value products, intensifying the challenge faced by the UK sector.

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a

Click here for a statistical overview of the fashion industry (2005)   

Keywords
Gross value added (GVA) is the difference between the value of goods and services produced and the cost of raw materials and other inputs which are used up in production.

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a, table 1.  Data from the Annual Business Inquiry 2003, Labour Force Survey autumn 2004 and Skillfast-UK database of companies.
NB: figures do not sum due to rounding

For information on employment numbers and forecasts, economic profile, business drivers together with details of skills gaps for each industry see:

Skills gaps in existing employees are reported by 75% of organisations in the sector. The highest incidence of gaps in core technical skills relate to the following occupations:

• launderers and dry cleaners
• sewing machinists
• designers
• textiles process operatives

Specific job areas affected in the sector are engineering/maintenance staff, IT specialists (including CAD/CAM) and pattern/garment/fabric technologists.  In terms of skills gaps in the workforce, employers have most often identified technical and practical skills.

Just under 50% of organisations identify skills gaps relating to more generic skills, including: information and communications technology skills; management and supervisory skills; sales and marketing skill; plus multi-skilling and team-working skills.

The increased use of technology is having an impact on companies’ competitiveness, and this in turn has implications for the sector’s skill requirements.

The skills intensity of the sector workforce is increasing as result of a shift in the nature of the activities undertaken. Science/technology skills, high level craft skills, design skills, branding and marketing expertise and operator multi-skilling will make a major contribution to future productivity.

Source: Skills Needs Assessment 2005a, Foundation Degree Sectoral Frameworks 2004 and Spilsbury Research Ltd. 2003

Across all industries there is a shortage of potential recruits with skills relevant to the industry.  For industry specific skills needs see:

The shortage of skilled workers is a problem for 75% of organisations in the sector. Recruitment is difficult as there is a lack of available skilled workers in the labour market. The key recruitment needs are for:

• launderers and dry cleaners
• sewing machinists (including linkers and menders)
• textile process operatives
• designers/garment technologists
• clothing cutters
• sales professionals.

It should be noted that sector image and low relative rates of pay within the sector have a significant affect on firms’ ability to recruit staff, particularly at operator level. At an occupational level, projected replacement demands between 2004 and 2014 are:

• operatives – 28,000
• managers – 19,000
• elementary occupations – 14,000
• skilled trades – 13,000

Source: Working Futures 2006 and Skills Needs Assessment 2005a

Across all industries there is a shortage of potential recruits with skills relevant to the industry. For industry specific recruitment needs see:

The key external factors impacting on the sector in the future were highlighted in the Skillfast-UK Skills Needs Assessment (2005a), including:

• Growing expenditure by UK and global consumers on clothing, footwear and household textiles, with future growth in consumption expected to be concentrated in developing countries.
• Increasing competition from low cost overseas producers and continuing price deflation in the UK market, leading to pressure on margins and reduced profitability for many sector firms.
• The transfer of manufacturing capacity offshore; with functions such as design, range management, wholesale and distribution often retained in the UK.
• A growing focus on high value, niche and fast response opportunities by the UK manufacturing sector and an increasing reliance on export markets.
• Rapidly changing consumer tastes, creating a need for greater flexibility among manufacturers. The ageing of the population is also expected to result in changes to the pattern of demand for the sector’s products.
• An increasingly globalised sector, resulting from continuing trade liberalisation, convergence of consumer preferences worldwide, globalisation of investment and improving communications.
• The growing prominence of technology as a determinant of competitiveness, particularly in areas such as design, manufacturing and supply chain management.
• An increase in the salience of sustainability issues, including environmental protection and ethical production.

For more detailed information on future opportunities in the sector by industry see: