The UK fashion and garment manufacturing sector is set to receive a
boost with the launch of the UK’s first Fashion Technology Academy, which
will give more than 200 people a year the opportunity to work in paid
apprenticeships and gain highly sought-after professional qualifications in
the fashion industry.
Run by social enterprise Fashion Enter, the Fashion Technology Academy
will operate alongside a working factory and fashion studio, and will
produce close to 400,000 garments a year for the likes of Marks and
Spencer, Asos, Finery and Tesco from their North London-based factory.
The Fashion Technology Academy has received 570,000 pounds of investment
from Haringey Council and the Department for Work and Pensions, to help
convert a derelict industrial unit into a state-of-the-art garment factory
and teaching space, equipped with pressing equipment, fusing boards,
machine tools, CAD/CAM, and cutting branches.
With the work now completed the Fashion Technology Academy is hoping to
give out up to 4,000 NVQ qualifications in the next four years, as well as
give thousands of local residents the skills and experiences needed to
break into the highly competitive and resurgent UK fashion industry.
The academy will help people work towards qualifications in pattern
making, fabric inspection, laying and cutting, quality control, machine
maintenance and stitching. It is hoped that this academy will help fill a
skills gap identified by the British Fashion Council.
Joe Goldberg, Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic
Development, Social inclusion and Sustainability said: “It’s fantastic that
Haringey, with our proud textile heritage, is once again demonstrating our
place at the heart of Britain’s small scale manufacturing boom by
attracting nationally unique businesses such as Fashion Enter to the
area.”
Jenny Holloway, director at Fashion Enter added: “We really believe that
the Fashion Technology Academy is the single most important initiative we
have ever undertaken. We will be able to help thousands of people gain real
work based skills that will lead to employment.
“With the on-shoring of garment manufacturing that is occurring now the
timing of the Fashion Technology Academy is perfect. Our sincere gratitude
to Haringey Council, Asos and DWP for their overwhelming support.”
The Fashion Technology Academy is an extension of Fashion Enter’s
successful Stitching Academy, a collaborative apprenticeship and training
facility set up in partnership with Asos.
Images: Fashion Enter