Employers within the knitting industry in England have highlighted demand for a national Knitting Technician Apprenticeship that will provide training; support and recognition for the niche knitwear manufacturing skills found within the industry and so sustain the future of UK knitwear production.

We need to gauge the wider industry’s appetite to be involved in developing such an apprenticeship in England, and would like to invite interested parties to join the knitting industry Trailblazer Employer Group.

We are looking for, a minimum of ten employers – regardless of size – who can commit to approximately four to six days across a 10-12 month time period. Activity will include around two to three physical meetings to agree the content followed by online review of draft documents.

We would also like to hear from those who are interested, but can only commit minimal time via online consultation.

UKFT will provide a secretariat that will support the group, co-ordinate the process, liaise with relevant bodies and develop the required documents.

Return of investment

In addition to a securing the future UK fashion and textiles workforce, this development would:

• Maximise levy payments and/or government funding
• Offer relevant and specific training to staff
• Improve retention rates (The apprenticeship will last for at least 24 months)
• Reduce pay bill (Apprenticeship hourly rate is £3.70 to £7.38)
• Reduce recruitment costs (by using the apprenticeship service)

Interested? Please register your interest by emailing skillsandtraining@ukft.org before Friday 7^th June.