Market Research ITT: Industry Needs - Level 2 Apprenticeship in Fashion & Textiles (Wales)

Descriptions

In 2012, Creative Skillset Cymru successfully bid into the Welsh Government’s Sector Priority Fund Pilot 2 fund, for a 2 year pilot funded until December 2014. The pilot is split into three strands:•Level 4 Higher Level Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media (Interactive Media Pathway);•Level 2 Fashion and Textiles Apprenticeship Pilot;•Creative Provision – offering industry support to Creative industries courses in Further and Higher Education in Wales.This tender concerns the second strand of the pilot – the Level 2 Appenticeship in Fashion and Textiles which saw the establishment of this new Apprenticeship in Wales. The Apprenticeship has focused on attracting and recruiting new entrants into the Fashion and Textiles industries and has delivered innovative training support programmes capable of raising and widening the overall skills levels of participants.The Level 2 Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles in Wales qualification offers a range of pathways that enables the qualification to be specific and relevant to the sector in Wales. To commence the project, areas of skills gaps and shortages were identified via research including; a Sector Skills assessment for the Fashion and Textiles sector in Wales (2011) and a Feasibility Study for the Pilot apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles for Wales (2013). Skills gaps and shortages identified included; apparel and sewn-products, design, textiles, laundry maintenance and handcraft garment making.http://www.afo.sscalliance.org/frameworks-library/index.cfm?id=FR01968In February 2014 Creative Skillset Cymru commissioned an interim evaluation of the Level 2 Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles pilot. The aim of the evaluation was to provide an assessment of the impact of the project to date incorporating the views of apprentices, employers and the stakeholders involved in the pilot. To ensure the sustainability of the apprenticeship and to help ensure more employers and apprentices in different parts of Wales could participate, the interim evaluation outlines that,[…] a greater number of training providers should be involved in the delivery of the Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles in future, and that a further focus should be centred on the laundry and dry cleaning sub-sector. It was noted that this would help ensure that more employers and apprentices in different parts of Wales can participate. The provision of further entry and progression opportunities to the F&T sector was also considered important with Level 1 and Level 3 qualifications outlined as ideal pathways to support the future sustainability of the Apprenticship in Fashion and Textiles.The interim evaluation also demonstrated that;[…] there is evidence of a demand for the AFTP within the sector linked to a strategic need for encouraging younger people to enter the industry in Wales. […] stakeholders and employers were of the view that these specialised skills could eventually be lost to the industry in Wales in the absence of initiatives such as the AFTP.Many of the stakeholders noted the Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles’ development comes at a time when there is a renewed focus on quality Fashion and Textiles products designed and produced in the UK, using local skills and sourcing. A sustainable approach to skills development in the Fashion and Textiles sector in Wales can therefore capitalise on these potential opportunities for growth by ensuring the skills needs of employers will be met in future. The Welsh Government’s Policy Statement on Skills, and subsequent Skills Implementation Plan, Sector Priorities Fund Pilot 2 programme, the Young Recruits Programme and Skills Gateway were all highlighted as potential levers to support this process.This invitation to tender for the Industry Needs Analysis is of a direct result from employer feedback and information provided by the interim evaluation where it states, apprenticeships assist business growth and outlines the need to investigate further business needs is essential to ensuring the success of future apprentice cohorts and assist industry with skills gaps and training. This is supported by the following statements:(80%) [of employers] that responded to the survey agreed that employing an apprentice was helping their business grow.(100%) [of employers] that responded to the survey agreed that their apprentice would help them increase capacity and productivity.There are lessons to be learnt from other areas of the UK inc. Scotland where strong comparisons with Wales can be made. The sector in Scotland faced similar problems to Wales, with knitwear and weaving being particularly badly hit and in decline. The industry was not seen as an attractive career path for young people and there had been a lack of investment in skills and training by employers. The development of the F&T Apprenticeship led by Creative Skillset Scotland placed a strong focus on skills, knowledge, competencies linked to National Occupational Standards (NOS) and being industry relevant. There was also an initial focus on building capacity through training of employees. As one stakeholder noted, ‘it was all about giving the F&T industry a minimum standard to recognise training and skills. The number one objective was to get employers in the F&T sector to recognise that they need to invest in training’.There are potential lessons for Wales in any future development of the Apprenticeship, in particular regarding the strong focus on skills development, promotion of the sector and progression opportunities to young people and capacity building and cluster development within the sector.Creative Skillset Cymru is currently undertaking Market Research to identify and assess providers who believe they are in a position to deliver Fashion and Textiles apprenticeships in Wales. The final report will outline a detailed analysis of a minimum of four training providers in Wales and will identify where clusters of employers surrounding these training providers are currently located.We plan to use the research, along with this Industry Needs Research to help shape future approaches, identify employers and attract future learners, to support the mainstreaming and sustainability of this apprenticeship post Sector Priorities Fund Pilot 2. The information will also support the Industry Needs Analysis with the identification of employers to allow the chosen supplier to complete interviews and further analysis into employer needs. All research gathered will need to be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny and to help support Creative Skillset to build a rationale for further development and sustainability of the programme, and to inform areas for potential future activity.About the tenderCreative Skillset Cymru is seeking support with:•An Industry Needs Analysis: Level 2 Apprenticeship in Fashion and Textiles (Wales)The research will fall into three main parts:•To identify and map employer clusters who may be in a position in future to appoint Level 2/3 Fashion and Textiles Apprentices in Wales; in addition to those who have been identified by our Market Research;•To support the current and future Apprenticeship training provider/s in researching the needs of the Fashion and Textiles (inc. Laundry & Dry Cleaning) employers identified pan-Wales;•To provide a report on the specific industry skills needs within the sector and sub-sectors of textiles, apparel, tailoring, laundry, dry cleaning and textiles care servicesThe final report will outline a detailed analysis of employers in Wales and their business needs.We plan to use the research to help shape future approaches, to attract future employers, and to support the mainstreaming and sustainability of this apprenticeship post pilot. We require all research gathered to be robust enough to stand up to scrutiny and to help support Creative Skillset Cymru to build a rationale for further development and sustainability of the programme, and to inform areas for potential future activity.Creative Skillset Cymru is working to commission all research activities/reports with the intention of publishing them, once completed. This effectively means that we would like to standardise the formatting of all our evaluation outputs. To this end we will be sharing our publication formatting guidelines with the selected supplier during the inception meeting and will expect all deliverables to adhere to these specifications.This has numerous benefits:•To increase the number of publications we develop.•To raise our profile: when bidding for research and evaluation, funders look for a track record of our work and impact.•To ensure transparency in our approach.•To enable us to share lessons from projects more widely.Market Research ObjectivesWe will work collaboratively with the chosen supplier to help refine the brief and to ensure the best outputs possible. The chosen supplier will be required to use the existing interim evaluation and market research relating to the Fashion & Textiles Apprenticeship, to meet the following overall objectives of this piece of work:•Build on the map provided by our existing Market Research to include industry / employers where they may be missing pan Wales; including SMEs, independent employers in addition to larger organisations.•Provide indepth analysis of the Fashion & Textiles industry in Wales (inc. Laundry & Dry Cleaning).•Provide an industry database (inc. contact details) of employers that could potentially deliver the Apprenticeship.•Identify any other skills needs these employers may require.•A full report on the needs of the Fashion, Textiles, Laundry and Dry Cleaning industry in Wales, outlining the scope and outcomes of the initiative.•Present a brief interim summary of initial findings at the project’s Industry-Led Steering Group in September 2014.•Identify at least 60 companies who would be interested in appointing an apprentice; 20 of these should aim to be face-to-face interviews with the remainder as telephone interviews where possible.ConceptWhere are the areas of potential for the sustainability and growth of the Level 2 Fashion and Textiles Apprenticeship in Wales?1.Where are the industry employers in Wales that could potentially benefit from this Apprenticeship in future?2.What is the nature of their business?3.Where are sub sectors located pan Wales; to include textiles apparel, tailoring, laundry, dry cleaning and textile care services?4.Which industry employers are currently advertising for recruitment?5.Are the industry employers local, national or international?6.What links (if any) do the employers have to learning providers?7.What are the industry employers immediate, future and long term skills needs for their businesses?8.What lessons learnt from the current provision of Fashion and Textiles Apprenticeships would these employers benefit from for future mainstreaming of the apprenticeship programme?NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=14034.