Asos to Support Scheme to Rebuild UK Clothing Manufacturing Skills

Online retail giant Asos is backing the growth of a training initiative aimed at rebuilding skills in the UK clothing manufacturing industry.

It is helping to extend the reach of a training programme run by Fashion Enter, a manufacturer that set up a workshop in London in 2008 with just eight staff. It now employs 84 people, including 48 machinists, and makes up to 7,500 items a week for companies such as Asos.

Fashion Enter also trains around 20 people every six weeks in basic stitching skills and another 50 on more complex processes involving pattern-cutting technology.

Asos will place more orders which, along with funding from Haringey Borough Council, will allow Fashion Enter to train more than 1,000 people a year across a broad spectrum of clothing manufacturing skills. It is also planning to produce up to 16,000 garments a week.

While director of Fashion Enter Jenny Holloway says it is unlikely that all new trainees will find UK work within the industry, she did express optimism about the country’s position against global competition, citing the benefits of quick turnaround times from local production.

There are now 32 fashion factories in the Fashion Enter area with more planning to open as demand for UK-made clothing begins to rise.