Skillfast-UK
Skillfast-UK Regional Contact:
Fred Kirkland, National Head of Skills Development
Skillfast-UK
Richmond House
Lawnswood Business Park
Redvers Close
Leeds
LS16 6RD
T: 0113 2399600
M: 07793 578014
M: 07793 578014
Learning and Skills Council Contact: anthea.pratt@lsc.gov.uk
Click here for the Skillfast-UK North East Fact Sheet
Overview of the Sector in the North East
Skillfast UK is the SSC for apparel, footwear, textiles and related businesses.
Nationally, the proportion of the workforce that is female is 51%. Women are under represented in terms of management jobs (30%).
Nationally, almost half the workforce (46%) is aged 45 years and over – 79% of the workforce is aged 35 years and above. (LSC SoP from LFS Spring 2004)
Around about one third of the national workforce has NVQ3+ or equivalent with a similar proportion with no qualifications (29%). (LSC SoP from LFS Spring 2004)
There are 519 workplaces in the NE region of which 57% have 50 or more employees (Regional Fact Sheet 2005) 10% of establishments in the region are owned or part-owned by a member of an ethnic minority group. (Skillfast-uk Survey 2004)
Key issues facing the sector now and in the future
The three outstanding issues facing businesses in the region are:
- Attracting new customers
- Improving quality of service
- Reducing costs
The elimination of trade quotas at the end of 2004 (under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing) means that firms have to increase their focus on higher value added activities and markets and enhance their capability in the field of international trade. (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
Contributory causes of gaps and shortages of skills:
- Rapid changes in product market in recent years leading to changes in skills requirements
- Ageing of existing workforce and negative image of sector held by potential recruits
- Long lead time for development of craft skillsets
- Relatively low incidence of structured training and development investment by sector companies
- Shortage of appropriate learning provision at local and, in some cases, national level (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
Employment Issues in the North East
Current and forecast recruitment demand (either for growth or replacement)
11,443 people are employed within the Skillfast sector with a decline forecasted of -26% between 2002 and 2014 (Regional Fact Sheet 2005). However, recent research by Skillfast (2004) revealed that a fifth of establishments expected to grow staffing levels and almost three quarters expected staffing levels to remain static.
Respondents to the Skillfast UK’s 2004 Survey reported that replacing staff as they retire is likely to be a problem amongst operative staff and managers.
Recruitment difficulties and causes
A total of 41 vacancies were notified to jobcentres by sector manufacturers in April 2005. The key occupations in terms of numbers were launderers/drycleaners and sewing machinists (Regional Fact Sheet 2005). Skillast UK’s survey confirmed that vacancies and skills shortages were most likely to be in the operative occupational grouping. However, shortages of ‘sales’ staff are frequently reported by manufacturers.
Attracting people into the sector
Skillfast UK’s research indicates that the key challenges facing the sector in the NE are the need to address the ageing workforce by improving the image of the industry held by potential recruits, the need to raise workforce skills to meet the challenges of the global economy and the need to increase employer investment in training and development. The sector is deficient in all these areas relative to the aggregate economy. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Only a quarter of employers in the sector rate their industry as being quite or very attractive to young people leaving full time education with around two thirds believing that the industry is not attractive to young people coming out of full time education. This is reflected at national level. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Workforce Development in the North East
Skills shortages/gaps in existing workforce and latent skills issues
Much of the sector lacks a structured approach to training with 54% of respondents (rising to two thirds amongst sole traders) saying they have no planning or training resources such as business plans, managers who have responsibility for training, training plans, training budgets, HR plans, staff to design training courses. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004).
In terms of vacancies and skills shortage vacancies, a diverse range of job titles at all levels are cited by respondents to Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004.
There is a well-established need to improve skill levels in this sector as a means of improving competitiveness due to the industry changing from high volume, low margin through diversification into evermore specialist markets. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Key challenges facing the sector are the need to attract young people into the industry and to up-skill those already employed. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Management succession is confirmed as a major issue for the sector – most notably general managers and functional managers who will need to be replaced in the next few years. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Under skilled trades a diverse range of job titles are identified as occupational areas where skill needs and skill shortages cause problems, e.g. including skilled shoemakers/leather workers, weavers, textile cutters and machine maintenance staff. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Future skills demand
Textiles and apparel manufacturing are the sub sectors most likely to face a problem in replacing staff as they retire. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Skills gaps in the following areas are likely to emerge: management skills in a range of areas including management of change, international trade, supply chain management, design, technical skills at levels 3 and 4, craft skills at levels 2 and 3. (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
At a national level, skill shortages are expected in the next 12-18 months in the following:
- Technical skills – including textile technologists, garment technologists, engineering/maintenance staff, designers, IT specialists, laboratory technicians, sales representatives
- Skilled trades – including hand craft tailors, shoe makers, pattern cutters, weavers, menders, linkers
- Operatives – including sewing machinists, textile operatives (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
At a national level skill gaps are expected in the next 12-18 months in the following:
- Managers – supply chain management, production management, quality management, personnel and leadership
- Designers – linked technical skills including garment cutting; plus commercial skills
- Administrative staff – general IT skills
- Operatives – machine operator skills (e.g. sample machinists), multiskilling, team working
- Sales staff – customer handling, sales
- Basic skills – particularly impacting on those working in operative occupations and other elementary occupations (Apparel Footwear and Textiles has greatest proportion of workers without qualifications of any sector) (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
Prioritisation of skills issues within the industries
Ageing of the workforce is building up management success and skills shortage problems. (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
The importance of line managers, supervisors and in house specialists to upskilling and training in the sector elevates the importance of replacing management staff as they retire. (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
Uneven distribution of training means that a significant proportion of staff so not have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, impacting on productivity of sector. (Skillfast UK’s Market Assessment 2004)
Under representation of women and ethnic minority individuals in management and technical roles could affect sector productivity as employers fail to draw on full potential of workforce. (LSC SoP from LFS Spring 2004)
Learning and Skills Infrastructure in the North East
A lack of suitable courses in the area was considered a barrier by only 9% of NE firms compared to 16% for England as a whole. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
Around half of the sector’s establishments are involved in training from external providers - sector employers rely heavily on in-house training, using line managers and supervisors as well as in-house. Specialist staff are the most commonly used mechanisms for training delivery. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
There is an overall shortage of training provision in respect of technical, craft and operative disciplines, with all regions affected to a significant degree. (S0P 04/05)
There is a need to increase the technical content of Fashion Design HNC, HND and Degree courses to meet industry needs. The technical component of these courses has recently been reduced from 21 to 7 guided learning hours. (SoP 04/05)
The LSC Annual Statement of Priorities 2004/2005 highlights the following actions for the industry:
- Creation of additional centres of excellence to serve sub sectors and regions not yet covered; this could involve the setting up of collaborative arrangements among employers
- Strengthening of sector’s assessment/verifier infrastructure in order to boost qualification take-up
- Greater availability of short courses
- Greater emphasis on flexible open/distance learning to support dispersed market for technical skills (under-pinning knowledge)
- Inclusion of company specific and vendor qualifications on NQF
- Greater availability of generic provision that is contextualised to the needs of the sector (e.g. in basic skills)
Relevance and quality of existing provision
Courses offered by external organisations are perceived to lack relevance by the majority of respondents; however, in most cases this perception is not based on direct experience. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Only 26% of respondents believed that HE, FE or private sector training organisations offer provision that is relevant. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Private training organisations are given the most positive rating but the differences between the three are small. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
Barriers to employers accessing the skills provision they need
The proportion of firms in England that have provided funding for staff training within the previous 12 months is 43%. (Regional Fact Sheet 2005)
The most frequently mentioned barrier to undertaking training in the NE was lack of funding (26%) followed by lack of time to undertake training (25%) (Regional Fact Sheet 2005). Skillsfast UK’s research confirms this reporting that the main reasons for non participation in training to be the belief that training is not necessary, that staff are fully proficient together with a lack of time and a lack of funds for training. The proportion of establishments that had arranged training linked to a formal qualification was similar in the NE (7%) to that found in the UK as a whole (5%).
Best Practice
12% of establishments have had some form of link with education in the past year, most commonly in the form of providing work experience placements although firms were involved in others such as, graduate placement, mentoring pupils, careers events, visits by pupils to the workplace. This was similar to the incidence of educational links found overall. (Skillfast UK’s Survey 2004)
The pilot programme Fast Forward provides an exemplar approach to addressing the skills and productivity needs of the sector. The pilot, which received support from the LSC contains the following key elements:
- Help for companies to identify areas for strategic developments and to assess the skill needs arising out of that development
- Financial support for training related to skills needs
The programme has successfully promoted a strategic approach to training, focusing on key technical and operator skills. Case studies indicate benefits in the following areas: increased productivity, increased sales, increased employment, reductions in wastage, enhanced capability to handle fast-response business.
Quantitative data demonstrating the added value of the programme will become available in the near future with the completion of an independently conducted evaluation study.
“Future Skills Tyne & Wear”
Employers in Tyne & Wear are being urged to take advantage of free training, which is being offered to improve both their and their employees’ skills, to increase competitiveness and productivity.
Headed by Skillfast-UK (North East), “Future Skills Tyne & Wear” will see companies visited by a training assessor who will conduct a training needs analysis. From this, a range of qualifications, which could be aligned to improving literacy, numeracy, IT, management and customer service will be identified.
Funded by the Tyne & Wear Learning and Skills Council, the “Future Skills Tyne & Wear” programme will run until December 2007.
