Fashion and Textiles

The fashion and textiles sector covers the fashion and textiles supply chain from the processing of raw materials to product manufacture, to wholesale and trading activities and after-sales servicing of products.

The sector has undergone enormous transformation in the UK and due to the increasingly competitive global market, UK businesses are focusing on niche activities including new product development, brand creation and development, creative design and low cost, small scale manufacturing of high added value and difficult to make products.

To retain its position of strength, the strong fashion and textile design and creativity of Brand UK has to be backed up with the technical and practical skills to produce both the fine crafted and innovative products and the brand collections and new season styles.

The Fashion and Textiles Apprenticeship will prepare you with the technical and practical skills which the sector needs to be able to compete effectively. You will specialise in one of the five main areas - Apparel, Textiles, Footwear, Leather goods and Saddlery and the types of jobs you might be doing as an apprentice are below.

Find out more about related job roles by clicking the links below:

Apparel:

• Cutting and grading patterns
• Grader
• First and Seal Coster
• Finisher
• Garment or fabric technologist
• Pattern or Grading technologist
• Sample machinist
• Quality controller
• Handcraft garment makers
• Trainee and apprentice tailors / dressmakers

Textiles:

• Textile machinery operatives
• Packers
• Quality inspectors
• Textiles testers
• Technicians – dyeing, tufting and textiles
• Weaver – fabric and carpet
• Fabric inspector
• Printing machine, coating and laminating machine technician
• Coating and laminating machine technician

Footwear:

• Clickers, cutters, closers / stitchers
• Lasters, makers and welters
• Finishers
• Show room roles
• Quality inspectors
• Customer facing roles
• Footwear repairer
• Footwear technician
• Supervisor
• Technician
• Orthopaedic bespoke shoe room roles
• Orthopaedic bespoke footwear technician

Leather goods:

• Tanner
• Leather processors
• Finishers
• Quality inspectors
• Customer facing roles
• Supervisor
• Technician
• Leather goods designer

Saddlery:

• Production operative
• Retail / Service Operative
• Technician
• Production / quality Controller
• Supervisor leader
• Specialist craftsperson
• Society of Master Saddlers (SMS) Registered Trainee Saddler
• SMS Qualified Saddler after 4 years in trade
• SMS qualified Master Saddler after 7 years in the trade
• SMS Qualified Harness Maker after 4 years in the trade
• SMS Qualified Master Harness makers after 7 years in the trade