There are a huge number of potential careers in the textiles industry. There are also a variety of different names that these roles are known by. This page gives you a summary of some of the key roles linked to the textiles industry. Note that it is not a conclusive list and is a guideline only.
Some links to find out more information about careers are also given on this page. You could also use some of the keywords that are listed to do online searches to get more information on careers that interest you.
Textiles Sectors
The textiles industry can be divided up into ‘sectors’. Each sector focuses on a different part of the industry. Each sector will have some specialist jobs relevant to that sector but most sectors also have a lot of roles that are similar across all sectors e.g. most sectors require designers, technologists, machine operatives, retailers etc. This means that if you are interested being a designer you have the choice of designing across a number of sectors e.g. being a sportswear designer or designing specialist new materials for the construction industry.
Each sector can also be broken down into smaller sectors, and once again these sectors will require a variety of different job roles e.g. a sportswear designer might be designing sports clothing, or they might be designing Astroturf which is made using textiles materials.
Examples of different textiles sectors are:
- Sales & retail
- Manufacturing
- Sports & leisure
- Medical
- Transport
- Construction industry
- Fashion & apparel
- Craft
- Footwear
- Theatre & t.v.
- Education
- Armed Forces
- Interiors
- Toys
- Tailoring & bespoke textiles
- Carpets & flooring
- Technical textiles
Design based careers
Here are some examples of design based careers. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Fashion garments (e.g. men, women, children, bags)
- Uniforms (e.g. workwear, armed forces)
- Protective equipment (e.g. bullet proof vests)
- Costume (e.g. theatre, t.v.)
- Sports wear & equipment (e.g. sports gear, rackets, protective equipment)
- Footwear (e.g. shoes, trainers)
- Technical Textiles (e.g. construction industry, medical textiles, geotextiles)
- Interior Design (e.g. home, office, retail)
- Carpets & flooring (e.g. home, office, retail)
Technologists
Here are some examples of careers that have more of a technology and science focus. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Fibre Technologist
- Fabric Technologist
- Garment Technologist
- Dye Technologist
- Materials Testing Technologist
- Product Development Technologist
- Textiles engineers
Take a look at this job advert for a Textile Design Engineer.
Manufacturing
Here are some examples of careers that involve making products. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Machinist
- Sample maker
- Pattern maker
- Fabric cutter
- Finishing & Pressing
- Researcher
- Printer
- Dyer
- Weaver
- Knitter
- Production supervisor
- Production planner
Testing
Here are some examples of careers that involve testing products. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Quality Controller
- Materials testing
- Product testing
Trends & Fashion
Here are some examples of careers that involve trends and fashion. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Colourist
- Stylist
- Trend forecaster
- Visual merchandiser
Retail & ‘behind the scenes’ retail roles
Here are some examples of careers linked to selling textiles products. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Buyer
- Merchandiser
- Advertising & marketing
- Sales assistant
- Retail manager
Other related careers
Here are some examples of other careers related to textiles. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Journalist
- Photographer
- Trainer / Teacher /Lecturer
- Process engineer
- Technician
- Research scientist
- Systems analyst
- Computer programmer
- Machine engineer/technician
- Technician
- Dry cleaning
Don’t forget all of the non
textiles specialist jobs that are required in a textiles environment. Remember this is not a conclusive list & different names might be used elsewhere.
- Accounts & finance
- Admin & office management
- Maintenance
- Health & safety
- Transport & delivery
- Packaging
- Website design & maintenance
Useful Links
Use some of the keywords on this page to search for more information on careers in textiles that interest you. Some links to start you off are listed below. Note that you might need to type ‘textiles’ or other keywords into each website to find relevant information.
http://www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk
http://www.futuremorph.org/?p=4267
http://www.britishfashioncouncil.co.uk
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/
http://www.careersintextiles.com/
https://www.textilesjobsandskills.com
Apprenticeships: https://goo.gl/jHzaK8 and https://www.getingofar.gov.uk.
Useful books
Although the focus is on fashion this book has lots of information relevant to a variety of careers in the textiles industry (approximately £15)
If you are looking for university courses and degree level careers in the design industry, including textiles, this book is also useful.
Contact: Tel 01159 607061 Mob 07972 749240 Email julie@julieboyd.co.uk
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