A third of total employment in the sector is in the West Midlands’ textile manufacture, including the manufacture of textile items (bedding, curtains, etc.), carpet manufacture and labels and trimmings. Regional employment in the sector in also concentrated in apparel manufacture and the manufacture of leather goods. At district level employment is clustered in: carpet manufacturing in Wyre Forest; and leather goods manufacture in Walsall.

Sales in the region have increased for smaller organisations, but decreased for medium and larger organisations. Manufacturing organisations also reported a decline in sales and staffing levels.

The Gross Value Added (GVA) of the sector to the West Midlands was worth £452 million, equivalent to 3% of total manufacturing output. Employment in the sector has declined together with output. There is increasing competition from overseas and a greater emphasis on niche products.

Key characteristics of the West Midlands sector:

• The age profile of staff is similar to the national picture, with 13% aged under 25 years, 57% aged 25-49 and 30% aged 50 years and over.
• 14% of staff work part-time, below the national average of 18%.
• Ethnic minority individuals are heavily represented (21%) in the sector’s workforce in the West Midlands. This is significantly higher than the UK average of 16%.
• 16% of managers in the sector are from an ethnic minority group, compared with a national average for the sector of 11%. Ethnic minority employment is concentrated in apparel manufacture and the wholesale of clothing/footwear.
• 29% of establishments are owned or part-owned by individuals from an ethnic minority background, which is higher than the national average of 20% and is the highest level of ethnic minority ownership outside London.
• Outside contractors and agency staff are strongly represented in the region and are mostly employed in textiles manufacture.

70% of establishments reported that staffing levels had remained unchanged over the last year, compared to 30% that reported an increase. The sector is dominated by organisations with less than 10 employees (84%). The sector is dominated by low skilled staff and 29% of staff in the sector have no qualifications. However, there is an increasing demand for NVQ level 2 qualifications.

17% of establishments arrange or fund training, compared to 18% in the UK. Health and safety, job specific and induction training are most commonly provided. There is a reliance on line managers and experienced staff to provide in-house training.

There is a high incidence of vacancies and skills shortage vacancies in the region. Skills shortages are concentrated in the manufacturing industry. Organisations involved in the manufacture of household textiles or apparel are also more likely to report vacancies. 8% of organisations reported vacancies that were difficult to fill because of a lack of skills and/or experience from applicants.  

5% of organisations have skills shortage vacancies, relating mainly to operative skills, particularly sewing machinists. Two thirds of vacancies also relate to operative occupations (specifically skilled sewing machinists, machine operators and soft furnishers), plus sales and administrative staff.

Internal skills gaps (employees who are not fully proficient) reported for customer handling, general IT skills, quality control, design, international trade, literacy/numeracy and machine operator skills.

The sector anticipates major difficulties in replacing staff as they retire in the next few years (11% of organisations, compared to the UK average of 9%), particularly for management, operatives and those in skilled trade occupations. 18% of manufacturing organisations expect difficulties replacing staff, 4% of wholesalers, and 5% of those involved in servicing. This is likely to have a bigger impact on smaller organisations.

Future challenges for the sector:

• attracting new customers
• reducing overall costs
• improving quality of service to customers

Source: Regional report – West Midlands 2004

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.