There is a wide range of job opportunities in the fashion design industry, whether you want to start a career in designing clothing, fabric, footwear or accessories. Job roles include in-house designers, design consultants, freelance designers, couturiers and bespoke tailors.

For aspiring designers the competition for jobs is tough but the opportunities are there. So what can you do to get a head start? Hard work, enthusiasm and a bit of luck will all help, but there are things you can do that will get you on the right track.

Fashion designers have an exciting and often demanding career in a competitive industry, so it’s important to have the relevant skills and interests. This includes having a creative eye for colour and shape, having a keen interest in fashion trends past and future, the ability to draw and convey designs effectively and developing the technical skills specific to your area of the industry.

Whether you aspire to work in a couture fashion house or for a high-street retailer, all fashion design companies need designers who have a mix of creative and technical skills. Many companies will look for people with relevant qualifications, such as a degree. When choosing your study route it is important to find a course that will give a range of both practical (drawing) and technical (sewing and pattern-making) skills, as this is what employers are looking for.

Vocational routes are also available and apprenticeships are a new and exciting route into the fashion and textiles industry. You’ll have the opportunity to learn on the job and develop the specialist knowledge and skills specifically required by the industry, whilst gaining a nationally recognised qualification.

Creative Skillset fashion and textiles apprenticeships cover 12 sectors of the industry:

• Apparel
• Product Development and Sourcing
• Dry Cleaning
• Saddlery
• Footwear
• Tailoring
• Laundry
• Technical Textiles
• Leather Goods
• Textile Care Services (Laundry and Dry Cleaning)
• Leather Production
• Textiles

And Creative Skillset has just launched the first ever Higher Level Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles that will provide level 4 training (equivalent to the first year of university). Building on the existing level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, the Fashion and Textiles Technical Higher Level Apprenticeship is currently available in two routes: Technical Textiles and Product Development Sourcing. To be kept informed of apprenticeships news and vacancies, sign up to our fashion and textiles apprenticeship Facebook page.

If you are looking at either apprenticeships or university courses, one way to be sure that you’re going to get the skills and knowledge needed by the industry is to Pick the Tick. The Creative Skillset Tick signposts courses and apprenticeship programmes that have earned industry approval for providing the most up-to-date relevant training available. Browse the fashion and textiles apprenticeships that have been awarded the Creative Skillset Tick.

Many students also find that undertaking work experience in a fashion design company can be a good way of gaining entry into a career in fashion as you can build up key industry networks and contacts. It’s also important to build up a design portfolio of your work that you can take to interviews.

Find out more about the different routes into the fashion and textiles industry on the Creative Skillset website. You can also stay up-to-date with careers and fashion and textiles industry news by following Creative Skillset on twitter @SkillsetSSC.

Image: Shutterstock

When employers are looking to fill a vacancy they often prefer to find someone they know who would be suitable for the post or someone who has been referred to them. Approximately 50 per cent of all jobs are not advertised. Therefore you can see why job search techniques such as speculative applications and networking can be effective. Remember that people won’t always be nice to you and sometimes your job applications and CVs won’t be acknowledged, but don’t give up.

Networking is a very effective job search strategy as it’s all about people and information. The more you know about your chosen industry and the more people in that industry that you can make positive contact with, the better your chances of getting your foot in the door. Speculative applications involve contacting the company for which you wish to work to find out if they have any vacancies or future work opportunities. Make your approach by letter and do your research on the company and make sure that you are clear about what you are looking for and what you have to offer. Scan papers regularly and look at online job websites.  Register with them and check them frequently.

Offer your time for free. Volunteering can be a great way of finding out more about a job role as well as making sure that you are in the right place if a job opportunity comes up. Also if you have been out of the workplace for some time and might have lost confidence, volunteering can be very beneficial. Voluntary work can improve your CV and demonstrates that you are using your time effectively and keeping your foot in the workplace and learning new skills. You might also like to consider work-shadowing when you persuade someone in the role that interests you to let you shadow him or her for a week for example. You will gain an understanding of what the job involves, gain an insight into the company and this can also lead to networking opportunities.

Words: Martina Collett-Creedy, Careers and Training Officer at Merton Adult Education

Image: Shutterstock

What kind of work can I do?

Within the logistics industry there are many different job titles that you could apply for, including working in the port, administration, IT, financial, planning and labour.

Within the port sector, for example, there are a plethora of different tasks that need to be carried out, including landside superintendent, mooring crew, vessel/yard/rail planners, ASC/IMV/ship controller, crane driver, shuttle driver, gate checker, help desk personnel, customs operatives, cargo lashers, cargo checkers and supervisors, to name but a few.

Training and qualifications required

Training or qualifications are often not necessary for many of the roles available in the port and logistics sector. However, many – although not all  – new entrants wanting a managerial post have a degree or professional qualification, but entering with GCSEs, NVQs or A levels is still possible. There are a wide variety of degree courses in logistics, international trade, supply chain management, export studies and overseas business.

Some of the larger graduate training schemes across the sector allow you to sample working in different departments to get an overview of the company and the key skills required in different roles.

Key attributes

As roles in the sector are extremely diverse, the types of skills you need to plough a successful career are also quite varied. However, in general, you will need to be well organised, have good people management skills, the ability to work under pressure, a good level of fitness and the ability to use a computer.

What is the transport and logistics sector?

The UK logistics industry is worth £74.45 billion to the UK economy and employs around 2.3 million people in over 196,000 companies (Skills for Logistics, 2010).

Transport and logistics is a growing sector that plays a major role in the UK and global economy. Although affected by the economic downturn in 2008/09, the sector is still in a good position.

What’s it like working in this industry?

The port and logistics sectors exemplify the 24/7 culture. Some, but by no means all, roles require shift work including evenings, nights and weekends. In addition, depending on the role, travel may be a regular feature both locally, nationally and even internationally.

Environmental issues, sustainability, IT, further economic downturn (or upturn), fuel costs or a decrease in the world supply of fuel, changes in the sourcing of overseas products, social inclusion, global tourism trends, legislation and funding all currently affect the industry and will continue to have an impact in the future.

What current job opportunities are there in the sector?

DP World London Gateway is the largest infrastructure project in the UK and it is currently recruiting new entrants. It will open towards the end of 2013 and will be looking to fill the port with hard working, driven employees of all age ranges from all skill sets to take a piece of land and to turn it into a working logistics park.

If you think you would like a career in logistics in any aspect then contact London Gateway to see the opportunities that they can offer you or for any more information on logistics.

Image: Shutterstock

The final tower will be 310 metres (1,017 feet) tall, overtaking One Canada Square (Canary Wharf Tower) which had been the UK’s tallest building since 1991 (235 metres/770 ft). The Shard will rank as the 45th tallest building in the world.

The building, which looks like a large, sharp shard of glass, will be made from granite, glass and steel in order to blend in with surrounding areas of London (as best it can for such a tall building!).

The architect, Renzo Piano, said the design was inspired by London church spires in historic paintings, as well as the masts of ships that used to sail along the nearby River Thames, and it’s been the job of engineers to make these ideas into a practical reality.

A number of different engineers have worked on the Shard, including structural engineers, geotechnical engineers, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers. They have been involved with everything in the Shard’s construction, from making sure the planned area is made suitable for building such a large tower, to choosing suitable materials for the building and helping to minimise the Shard’s impact on the environment. Developers claim that The Shard will use 30% less energy than other high-rise buildings of a similar size.

The Shard will have 95 floors when it is completed. The first 26 of these will be new offices. There will be a 200 room hotel from floor 37 to 51 and people with a head for heights will be able to live in apartments from floor 52 to 63. There will be public viewing points at different levels of the tower for excellent views across London, and 39 lifts will whisk passengers up and down the Shard, with double-decker lifts for office workers.

The project is thought to have created 300 engineering jobs. The developers hope that 1000 jobs will be created after its completion as business is attracted to the area… The area will also get many more tourist visitors by people keen to see this spectacular structure.

Tomorrow’s Engineers spoke to a young engineer who worked as a structural engineer on the Shard from engineering company WSP. You can read about what it’s like to do her job, and watch a video of her on the Tomorrow’s Engineers’ site.

Image: Shutterstock