What the coloration industry needs now is education, education, education
Our technical director, Andrew Filarowski, was featured in the April edition of Textile Excellence. Here, he spoke about the power that education can provide, the challenges to overcome in the colour industry, and the results from our 2023 survey on education.
If you missed the original article, catch up here.
Education helps individuals to develop professionally, and can equip them to change and improve processes, helping to raise performance and profits for the company they
work, but how much is invested In continuous professional development when you’re in the role?
As a long-time provider of workplace education and champion for the dyeing and coloration sector, the Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) launched the SDC Education Survey 2023, to get a clearer picture of global attitudes towards learning while earning.
It is clear that there is a skills gap within the textile dyeing industry. In fact, a previous ‘Skills Survey’ we conducted in 2021 revealed that 71% of participants believed there was a worldwide shortage of knowledgeable coloration professionals.
Power of education
In our 2023 survey, an overwhelming majority of coloration professionals in 25 countries underlined the value of colour education to organisations.
A total of 82 of the survey’s 105 respondents – 78% of the highly-knowledgeable sample – agreed that current, challenging times for dyeing and coloration mean it is more important than ever that employers educate their workforces, funding qualifications for key personnel.
This finding from our survey indicates an overwhelming belief in the power of education to steer our sector through these unpredictable post-Covid times. Whether that be to tackle environmental matters such as GHG emissions, as well as water usage and overall carbon consumption.
Respondents ranged from company directors and managers in the coloration sector to technicians, academics, students, and retired professionals, from dyehouses, universities and colleges, brands and retailers, print works, laboratories and chemical / dyestuff manufacturers and suppliers.
Well-qualified and motivated employees bring clear benefits to organisations, with 73.3 per cent of our respondents stating that their organisation’s success was linked with technical, educational attainment. More than three quarters of participants (76.1%) said their employer appreciated the benefit of having well-qualified staff.
More than half (54.3%) said they had an undergraduate degree from a university, and 8.6% reported that they held a doctorate. 8.6% had achieved Foundation Textile Coloration Certificate and/or Textile Coloration Certificate (FTCC/TCC) with the SDC, and 16.2% held our degree-equivalent Associateship of the SDC (ASDC). A total of 17.1% of participants were Chartered Colourists (CCol).
Challenges to overcome
Despite this optimism for education, and understanding of the benefits, not enough companies and organisations are currently turning to education as the answer to the current skills gap. Some companies and organisations would love to fund such opportunities but are struggling to meet the financial commitment this requires. The findings reveal difficulties in committing to paying for courses for employees, with nearly half of respondents (46.6%) believing that harsh trading conditions are making it hard or impossible for firms to fund learn-while-you-earn opportunities. However, almost a quarter of professionals asked (23.8%) felt their workplace could fund qualifications but chose not to.
Almost half (48.5%) of those surveyed felt there was room for their organisation to perform better if employees were better qualified and/or more experienced. A total of 24.7% did not feel this way, suggesting confidence in their employer’s performance and education strategy.
Continuous learning is a key theme here, with results indicating that, even when a company does well, there is scope for improvement, which can be achieved through education
as well as hands-on know how.
Significantly, almost half of respondents (49.5%) asserted that they would perform better for their employer if their skills were backed up by more technical education.
Performance matters
Our participants see the perils of ignoring educational opportunities for employees. Some suggested that business continuity itself could depend upon a healthy cycle of education, with a total of 52 (48.5%) stating that their company or organisation could be performing better, and that this was linked with underqualified or under-experienced personnel.
When asked: “How would you describe your organisation’s approach to workplace education?” professionals surveyed revealed a great deal of pride of their employers’ mindset regarding workplace education, often describing this as good, very good, fantastic or in one case “dynamic and progressive.” This is encouraging for the future of our sector, which depends on well-educated professionals across the globe to drive forward standards, sustainability, and innovation.
However, even when intentions are to fully support colleague learning, operational possibilities can be difficult to realise. One production professional said their organisation was behind the principle of workplace education but still developing the funding and infrastructure to support it.
Our research indicates that the majority of employers have a positive and proactive attitude to equipping staff with knowledge as well as day-to-day skills, yet for some there is clearly room to prioritise education more keenly and see the value of investing in it.
Driving improvement and innovation
The conclusions on the value of workplace education – whether provided by the SDC, universities, colleges, or other operators – are clear. Respondents feel employers should step up the qualifications they offer to fund, despite tight budgets and times of uncertainty.
They know that staff who are able to underpin their skills and experience with technical theory have a clear advantage in driving improvement and innovation, and therefore performance and profit. For the future of the sector, and the narrowing of our skills gap, we have a collective responsibility to persuade more organisations to give education the precedence it deserves.
The key findings of our research are outlined in a white paper, now available to download free of charge from the SDC website via the following link: https://fs26.formsite.com/SocietyDyersColourists/9j95ilngqt/index
The SDC’s Colour Education Pathway
The SDC offers Foundation Textile Coloration Certificate and Textile Coloration Certificate (FTCC/TCC) and the honours degree equivalent Associateship of the SDC (ASDC) leading to Chartered Colourist (CCol) status, as well as a range of short courses, all detailed on the organisation’s Colour Network. Those in the UK can get assistance covering up to 60% for the first two qualifications through The Worshipful Company of Dyers which offers help with funding via the Future Dyers’ Fund.