Funded training secured for sewn product sector in Scotland

Funded training for the sewn products sector in Scotland is now available for the first time.

The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) announced it has secured the future of the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles Heritage at SCQF Level 5 and added a new additional pathway on the training for ‘Sewn Products’.

UKFT said that as the Sector Skills Body for the fashion and textile industry, it submitted recommendations to Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to identify priority skills interventions the industry requires earlier this year “but unfortunately none of the requested developments for fashion and textiles were approved”.

This included requesting extensions to Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) to ensure training provision could continue as the industry transitions to new qualifications, as well as adding in “the long-overdue” Sewn Products pathway to enable the industry to access funded training for the fast-growing sewn product sector.

UKFT said it made the decision to fund these revisions and confirmed that the reviewed Fashion and Textiles ‘Heritage’ framework at SCQF Level 5 has been approved by the Scottish Apprenticeship Approvals Group (AAG) and opened for starts on July 26.

The SCQF5 framework has successfully upskilled almost 1,200 people in Scotland since it was introduced in 2011, across leather production and manufacturing, textile and technical textiles, and textile care services, according to UKFT.

It said this figure is expected to “grow significantly” in coming years following the addition of the sewn product pathway.

“We are delighted to have been able to deliver a funded sewn products pathway in Scotland for the whole CMT industry,” John West, director of skills and training at UKFT, said in a release.

“This will serve the entire sector spanning clothing, textiles, upholstery, soft furnishings and medical. It also serves as entry-level training for those who aspire to become kilt-makers or bespoke tailors.

“Not only is it meeting the immediate skills gap for ‘made in Scotland’ production, it is also the fundamental first steps for maintaining artisan and heritage trades in Scotland.”