About Us
The apparel, footwear and textile sector is very
diverse, and is constantly changing in response
to the demands of the global marketplace.
The sector splits into three broad areas:
manufacturing, trading and services. The
specific activities that are included in the
supply chain are as follows:
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Materials production and processing,
including processing of raw fibres,
spinning and weaving of fibres, tanning
of leather, finishing of textiles,
manufacture of knitted and crocheted
fabrics, production/processing of
manmade fibres, production of non-wovens
• Product design (textiles, clothing,
fashion design)
• Manufacture of made-up articles,
including household textiles, apparel,
knitwear, luggage, footwear and leather
goods
• Trading in apparel, footwear and
textile items, including sourcing,
logistics, distribution, branding and
marketing
• Servicing of apparel, footwear and
textile items, including fitting of
carpets, laundries, dry cleaning,
textile rental and clothing and shoe
repair |
Size of business and
the demise of the "trickle-down" effect
The sector as a whole (manufacturing, trading
and servicing) is dominated by small and
medium-sized employers. In fact, more than 80
per cent of establishments have 10 employees or
fewer.
Large employers (establishments with 200+
employees) are very few in number, but vitally
important, as they account for around one fifth
of the people employed in the sector.
Traditionally, it has been the larger employers
who have taken part in training and development
activities. Smaller employers have relied on
this investment "trickling down" as trained
employees move on, bringing their experience and
training to the wider market. However, as the
number of larger employers contracts, and as
training budgets are cut in response to tough
market conditions, smaller employers can no
longer rely on the trickle-down effect, and must
look to develop skills within their own
businesses.
The sector
workforce and differences in skill needs
Gender: overall, the apparel, footwear
and textiles sector is split fairly
evenly between men (48 per cent) and
women (52 per cent). However, different
parts of the sector have different
gender patterns (for example, men
dominate the shoe repair trade, whilst
women are more prevalent in clothing
manufacturing).
Ethnicity: the sector is a major source
of employment for people from ethnic
minorities. The manufacturing and
servicing elements of the sector employ
approximately 38,000 people with an
ethnic minority background, and ethnic
minority-owned firms account for a
significant proportion of the sector's
company base. For those who speak
English as a second language, the
difficulty of accessing training
materials in an appropriate language,
and training providers with an awareness
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of
cultural issues, can be a barrier to
developing skills and attaining
qualifications.
Age: the sector has an ageing workforce,
with around 73% aged 35 or over - far
higher than the figure for the UK
economy as a whole. As skills are lost
through retirement, there will be a need
to attract fresh young talent into the
industry. Promoting a positive industry
image, and providing meaningful work
placements for those looking to enter
the sector, will be key to achieving
this
Occupations: historically, employment in
the sector has been concentrated in
lower-skilled occupations, rather than
in professional and administrative
roles. However, the profile of the
industry is changing, with manufacturing
moving overseas, and management
occupations remaining in the UK. As this
happens, there will be a growing need to
recruit and train personnel in
higher-level posts in areas such as
technical development, management,
administration, sales/marketing and
research.
Part-time employment: whilst the amount
of part-time employment in the sector is
slightly below the UK economy average,
certain parts of the sector (such as
manufacturing, washing and dry-cleaning)
have a very high level of part-time
work. This again can have an impact on
skills, as it can be difficult to fit
training and development into part-time
hours. The ability to find flexible
training could become very important
here.
Self-employment: the sector has a high
level of self-employment relative to the
economy as a whole - particularly in the
areas of washing, dry-cleaning and
shoe-repair. Many self-employed people
also work in soft-furnishings, household
textiles, knitted clothing and women's
outerwear. Typically, self-employed
people need to be multi-skilled in order
to handle all the different aspects of
their business, from production, to
financial management, through to sales
and marketing. Again, the flexibility of
training provision may well prove
crucial to the self-employed.
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