Unit G Workplace Readiness

1
Unit GWorkplace Readiness

• 7.03
• Summarize careers in the fashion industry.

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The fashion industry as a career

• A self-evaluation and guidance testing will help
  to determine
• Interests Things one likes and/or enjoys doing.
• Aptitudes Talents or things one is naturally
  good at doing.
• Skills Specific tasks one has the ability to
  perform well.

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Sources of fashion industry information

• Trade publications
• Internet websites
• Industry experts
• Library materials

4
Personal characteristics needed for success in
the fashion industry

• Ambitious
• Willing to work hard
• Pleasant in appearance and manner
• Genuinely interested in people
• Energetic
• Inquisitive and willing to learn

5
Education and experience requirements
EXPERIENCE IS ALWAYS AN ADVANTAGE!

• Work-study program or internship An educational
  program in which a school teams with employers to
  provide students with on-the-job training toward
  an anticipated future career.
• Apprenticeship Training for an occupation under
  the direction and guidance of a skilled worker.

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Post-secondary training

• Associate degree A two-year degree usually
  earned from a community college program.
• Major A specific field of study in college.
• Bachelor degree A degree earned at the
  completion of most four-year programs.

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Forms of compensation

• Compensation package A combination of wages or
  salary, vacation time, and other benefits.
• Salary Payment based on a fixed dollar amount
  for a specified period of time.
• No overtime paid
• Based on a persons education, experience, and
  job requirements

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Forms of compensation (cont.)

• Fringe benefits Employment rewards in addition
  to pay.
• Examples sick leave, medical programs, company
  discounts
• Bonus Monetary reward offered as an incentive
  by certain companies at various times and for
  varied reasons.
• Examples high sales, meeting deadlines,
  year-end accomplishments

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Steps toward a career goal in the fashion industry

• Career planning The process of outlining the
  steps to be taken toward reaching a career goal.
• Job A specific work assignment or position
  within an industry.
• Career An occupation that is undertaken for a
  substantial period of a persons life and that
  usually includes a series of jobs leading up the
  corporate ladder.

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Levels of Employment in the Fashion Industry

• Fashion career opportunities can provide
  satisfaction for all levels of workers.
• Entry-level jobs Positions that offer beginning
  employees a chance to prove themselves and learn
  about the business.
• Retail sales clerk
• Stock clerk

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Levels of Employment in the Fashion
Industry(cont.)

• Management-level jobs Positions that involve
  handling the administrative and supervisory
  duties of running a business.
• Know how to analyze information
• Communicate effectively
• Think clearly
• Entry level employees with a college degree may
  begin in lower management and work their way up
  the career ladder.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles

• Range from developing the initial fibers to
  selling the finished fabrics
• Best opportunities are for people with strong
  education, continually developed and updated
  skills, and bilingual communication skills.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Research and Development
• Employment opportunities
• Fiber manufacturing
• Textile mills
• Testing labs

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Research and Development
• Aptitudes, skills, and knowledge required
• Love of science
• Patience in working towards a solution
• Creative imagination
• Curiosity
• Strong attention to detail
• Good communication skills

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Design
• Work ahead of current season to research and
  forecast upcoming trends with proper yarns,
  blends, textures, and performance characteristics

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Design
• Market analyst Conducts market research to
  discover future textile needs.
• Print/repeat artist Creates original textile
  surface designs which may include color
  combinations and repeats.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Design
• Motif artist Designs an idea or theme (a
  motif).
• Colorist Creates color combinations for
  designs.
• Strike-off artist Arranges prints on fabrics
  after motifs and colors have been established.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Design
• Fabric stylist Serves as the bridge between the
  creative and business aspects by coordinating
  fabric design, production, and sales.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Design
• Aptitudes, skills, and knowledge required
• Imagination
• Creativity
• Artistic ability for different design careers

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Production
• Largest segment of the textile industry
• Employees operate machines that perform
  manufacturing procedures.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Production
• With the advancement of technology, most
  production operations have computerized
  equipment. The computer skills needed to perform
  tasks in this work environment can be learned on
  the job or through formal education.
• Production jobs in America are decreasing due to
  decisions by textile companies to outsource work
  to other countries, resulting in the downsizing
  or closing of many plants in the U.S.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Sales
• Salespeople are the communication link between
  their company and the market, selling to yarn
  producers or fabric manufacturing firms. Firms
  with finished fabrics sell to apparel designers
  and manufacturers.

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Career Opportunitiesin Textiles (cont.)

• Sales
• Aptitudes, skills, and knowledge required
• Ambition
• Knowledge of fashion
• Good communication skills
• Integrity
• Stamina and pizzazz

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing

• Ready to wear apparel is mass-produced in large
  quantities.
• The number of apparel industries in the U.S. is
  decreasing due to imports, higher technology, and
  lower retail sales.

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

• Fashion designer Creates new ideas that combine
  function and beauty.
• Top fashion designers create their own custom
  designs or ready-to-wear lines two to six times a
  year.
• Success depends not on creativity buy on whether
  customers accept and purchase what the designer
  has created that season.
• Examples Armani, Liz Claiborne, Mary Quant,
  Tommy Hilfiger.

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

• Design stylist/copyist Adapts and mass produces
  high-priced fashion styles for sale within the
  price range of their customers.
• Qualifications include technical knowledge of
  fabrics, expertise in pattern making,
  manufacturing costs, awareness of changing social
  and economic trends and a strong sense of color,
  line and proportion.
• Personal traits such as creativity, drive to
  succeed, and enthusiasm are very important.

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

• Sketchers Draw freehand illustrations of ideas
  designers have created with fabric draped onto
  mannequins.

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

• Production
• Plant manager A person in charge of all
  operations and employees at a manufacturing
  plant.
• Pattern makers, graders, and markers are
  pre-production employees that complete their
  functions either by hand or using computers.
• The production process includes jobs such as
  spreaders, cutters, assorters (or assemblers),
  and operators.

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Career Opportunities inApparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

• Sales
• Showroom sales In-house sales employees who
  present the goods to visiting potential buyers.
• Merchandise coordinator Verifies that
  merchandise is visually presented as effectively
  as possible within the retail stores.
• Traveling sales representative Sells away from
  the showroom to established accounts and new
  customers within a designated sales territory.

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail

• Aptitudes and skills required
• Ability to work well under stress
• Ability to get along well with others
• Ability to think quickly
• Good organization skills

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail (cont.)

• Retail sales associate An entry-level employee
  who sells goods directly to the customer.
• A job that can lead to other positions in the
  retail industry.

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail (cont.)

• Retail buyer A merchandising professional
  responsible for selecting and purchasing goods
  for the company.
• Must adapt to a variety of price lines and types
  of merchandise
• Travels often
• Performs a great deal of research, planning, and
  record keeping

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail (cont.)

• Fashion Director A person that creates and
  coordinates the fashion image and buying program
  for one or many stores.

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail (cont.)

• Management Opportunities
• Merchandise Manager Coordinates the merchandise
  of several departments within a store oversees a
  group of buyers using creativity in developing
  new merchandise ideas.
• Operations Manager Oversees a department or
  group of departments acts as a liaison between
  the buyer and the sales staff, providing feedback
  regarding sales and inventory works to maximize
  profit and maintain effective customer service.

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Career Opportunitiesin Retail (cont.)

• Additional Retail Opportunities
• Stockkeeping Responsible for receiving goods,
  protecting them, and controlling their movements.
• Distribution planners Keep track of all aspects
  of merchandise through computerized systems at
  central or regional distribution centers.
• Trainer Responsible for giving orientation
  classes to salespeople on equipment, procedures,
  and soft skills.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities

• Promotion The process of communicating fashion
  information to the public.
• Modeling The combination of advertising and
  performing whereby someone wears garments or
  accessories to show how they look.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Photography Taking still pictures showing
  fashionable clothing and accessories and using
  creative props, backgrounds, and special settings
  to create a specific mood and image.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Writing Creating, editing, and sharing fashion
  information through the mass media.
• Visual merchandising Responsible for creating
  and setting up walls, racks, and displays to show
  the merchandise being offered and to reflect the
  desired image of the store.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Advertising Responsible for formulating
  approaches to attract and inform potential
  customers about a product or service.
• Account executive Serves as the liaison between
  the advertising agency and the client and is
  responsible for selling to and handling specific
  advertising accounts.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Advertising
• Media buyers Selects and buys the best media
  for the clients advertisements after negotiating
  for times, positions, and the lowest rates.
• Art director (advertising designer) Creates the
  concepts of advertisements for all forms of media
  including newspapers, magazines, and flyers,
  radio, outdoor media, and television.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Fashion forecaster Highly-skilled consultant
  who predicts future trends based on observation
  and work with fiber producers, colorists, and
  researchers.
• Public relations Helps a company project a
  specific image through all forms of media using
  publicity and special events and by anticipating
  problems and handling complaints.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Entrepreneur Organizes and launches a new
  business venture and assumes the financial risk
  and uncertainty of the enterprise.
• Home-based business A business operated out of
  the home. With the increasing use of the
  Internet, home-based business are becoming more
  common.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Entrepreneurship
• Retail owner The owner of a small fashion
  retail store or a franchise.
• Mail order business A company selling goods
  manufactured personally or bought from another
  source by using warehouse space for inventory,
  toll-free telephone numbers, and a rented post
  office box.

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Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)

• Entrepreneurship
• Freelancing Selling of expert skills to
  accomplish a particular task. Example An
  individual designs fashions and sells them to a
  manufacturer.
• Theatrical costuming Creating wardrobes for
  performers in a stage play, opera, circus,
  commercial, or television show taking into
  consideration the script, lighting, and budget
  limitations.

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Internet-Based Opportunities

• Research fashion retailing websites for job
  opportunities.
• Research online trends related to fashion.
• 1999 marked the introduction of Internet
  companies marketing themselves as malls as
  opposed to search engines.

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Internet-Based Opportunities (cont.)

• E-commerce The buying and selling of goods and
  services over the Internet. (business on the
  Internet)
• In 1998, 31 of website users purchased online
  regularly or occasionally.
• In 1999, 42 of website users purchased online
  regularly or occasionally (1999 Cyberstudy of
  U.S. Internet Users).

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Internet-Based Opportunities (cont.)

• From 2000 to 2002, online holiday shopping for
  apparel increased by 13. The ever-increasing
  popularity of shopping online for apparel has
  surprised those who predicted that customers
  would be reluctant to buy what they could not
  first try on.
• The typical shopping pattern among new users is
  to first browse e-tail sites, buy low commodity
  items such as CDs and books first, then gradually
  purchase more products and those of greater value.