Press Release

Skillfast-UK launches groundbreaking Vocational Qualification Framework for Warehousing and Distribution Services in the Textile Industry

24 July 2007

Two forward-thinking businesses have joined forces with Skillfast-UK, the Sector Skills Council for the apparel, footwear and textiles sector, and ABC Awards, the national awarding body, to develop a totally new training concept for their warehousing and distribution staff, which will help to meet tough retailer demands on correct supply.

Driven by the need to meet retail distribution targets of less than one per cent error, global clothing design and manufacturing giant Stirling Group and men’s wear brand specialist BMB Group, have worked with Skillfast-UK and ABC Awards to build the groundbreaking new Distribution Services in the Textile Industry (DSTI) Framework of vocational qualifications for warehousing staff.

Unlike existing qualifications, which do not fit the precise needs of the fashion and fabrics industry, DSTI will enable warehousing and distribution employees to select from a range of different modules and units according to their needs, experience and ability.  These modules are combined to form qualifications at Level Two and Level Three – but, unlike an NVQ, they can be tailored for each individual and their employer.  

Just like a standard NVQ Level 2, employers can pull down public-funding to support employees developing their skills through DSTI – and this is the very first time that a government-funded qualification has offered this “mix and match” approach to vocational training in the clothing and textiles sector.  The breakthrough is a result of Skillfast-UK, the Sector Skills Council, battling to make qualifications more employer-friendly, and relevant to today’s workplace.

Altrincham-based Stirling Group and Leeds-based BMB Group are piloting the training framework before it is opened up to other clothing and textile businesses.  The qualification was launched at Stirling Group’s premises by the first ten trainees to embark on the course (see picture).

Stirling contacted Skillfast-UK because it was unable to find a recognised qualification which could help employees to develop the “picking”, “packing” and “scanning” skills required of the company’s warehousing and distribution employees. Skillfast-UK, together with ABC Awards, devised a three-tier qualification that met the company’s requirements for training employees from entry through to operator and supervisor levels.  The training takes place at the companies’ own premises, using their own specially-trained staff, supported by Blackburn College.  The college also helps with assessments, relieving the employers of the burdensome bureaucracy often associated with vocational qualifications.

Jamie Petrie, Head of Qualifications at Skillfast-UK said: “The DSTI qualification framework we have developed with the Stirling Group and BMB is unique. This is the first time it has been possible to build a Vocational Qualification for the sector using a selection of mix and match modules, and it is a great reflection on the sector that we are at the cutting edge, developing new initiatives that will be relevant for may other industries. Up until now, qualifications have been very rigid, and encouraged people to build just one set of skills – despite the fact that today’s jobs require employees to be very flexible and develop lots of different skills .  This particular qualification combines a mix and match approach with techniques designed to enable experienced members of staff to pass on their knowledge, all of which will help apparel and textiles companies to train their staff across a range of warehousing and distribution skills in future.”

Human Resources Manager at the Stirling Group, Ruth Buckland, added: “We originally met with Skillfast-UK at a CoVE event at Blackburn College in September last year and discussed the difficulties we have had finding the best way to train our employees, who are all at different levels of education, skill and ability.  We challenged Skillfast-UK to show us how we could solve this problem and now, in June 2007, we have ten employees participating in the Vocational Qualification.

“We have not previously had a formal training programme at Stirling and wanted a way to invest in and recognise the transferable skills and abilities of our employees by providing them with a qualification that met our business needs as well as their personal career development.  Working with Skillfast-UK and ABC awards has meant that we could have direct input into the modules and ensure that both our needs as an employer and those of our employees were catered for.”

Skillfast-UK aims to transform learning provision across the UK for clothing, footwear and textile businesses, and to ensure qualifications are relevant not only in their content, but in the way they are delivered.  For more information about the DSTI framework and qualifications or how Skillfast-UK can work with you, please visit www.skillfast-uk.org/employers and click on the link to DSTI.

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