UKFT is pleased to announce that two new apprenticeships for the fashion and textile industry in England have been approved for development by the The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE): Knitting Technician and Materials Cutter.

The Knitting Technician apprenticeship is a proposed level 4 and is being developed by a trailblazer group of employers including John Smedley, David Nieper, Urgo, Discovery Knitting, Jackmasters, Chiltern Wool, Genevieve Sweeney, Oubas Knitwear, Baltex, M Wright & Sons and Albion Knitwear.

The standard is aimed at knitting technicians in the garment, medical and technical textile industries. The next stage is development of the standard and the end point assessment.

The Material Cutter is a proposed level 2 standard and replaces the existing cloth cutter qualification, widened to cover the entire textile industry in a broader range of application.

The trailblazer group of employers working on the development of the standard includes David Nieper, The Senator group, Harrison Spinks, MAES London, Intimate Apparel Samples, Ena Shaw, The All in One Company, Plus Samples, Morgan Furniture and Ruth Glen.