New survey identifies knowledge gaps in fashion industry

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in ‘The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020’ special report.

 

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in 'The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020' special report.#

The report represents the views of 900 apparel professionals from across the value chain. Survey suggested that while there is clearly still a need for strong fundamental skills (like apparel costing, sourcing, supply chain management, etc) one key finding is the perceived gap in “future” skills that combine 3D digitalisation and data skills with technical skills.

 

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in 'The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020' special report.#

The 2020 survey highlights includes: employee training and skill development is still one of the top two business issues; pre Covid, both sustainability and strategic sourcing jumped to the top in 2019/2020 while post Covid, digital creation skills have come to the top of the list; keeping up with technology and latest business trends is the top motivator, with employee satisfaction and engagement close behind; in the last 12 months, more large companies have turned to upskilling their workforce while more smaller and mid-sized companies are looking to hire in new skills; 66 per cent express some sort of dissatisfaction with the training they receive; biggest levels of dissatisfaction are at the junior levels with 13 per cent difference with management; 77 per cent of executives feel employees do not proactively take courses; 44 per cent say employees only take courses when they are forced to; and yet, when junior employees were asked, 71 per cent said they proactively take courses.

 

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in 'The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020' special report.#

For businesses working to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, investment in new skills will be crucial given rising economic pressures, new customer expectations and behaviours, and a challenging and uncertain retail environment. With Motif’s ‘State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020’ report finding new competencies lay around being able to manage digital libraries, data science skills, virtual product sampling and of course proficiency in using the tools themselves.

 

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in 'The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020' special report.#

“As an industry we need change agents throughout organisations - individuals, teams, executives who are able to reimagine roles and processes and work differently,” Catherine Cole, CEO of Motif, said in a press release. “This may be a disruptive process. To do that, we need people with a new blend of skills. This is the time to reimagine and reinvent roles within companies and within careers.”

 

Fashion e-learning platform Motif in collaboration with Alvanon has partnered with 19 leading apparel organisations to conduct a global skills survey to take the pulse of the fashion industry and assess level of investment in skills by apparel companies. The results are revealed in 'The State of Skills in the Apparel Industry 2020' special report.#

Now in its second iteration, the survey is part of Motif’s ongoing efforts to address the training and continual learning needs of the apparel industry worldwide. This report aims to highlight how upskilling workforces and an investment in continual learning programmes are imperatives to continued success. As companies transition into a digital way of working they must also support their existing workforces and foster a ‘learning mentality’ across their people and teams.