Derbyshire fashion house David Nieper, has announced plans to invest £500,000 in its sewing academy over the next three years to create new jobs.
In anticipation for London Fashion Week, Derbyshire fashion house David Nieper has announced plans to improve its facilities and invest in training new recruits over the next three years.
The investment is aimed at supporting the 250 -trong work force and meet the growing global demand for fashion, which sports the ‘Made in Britain’ tag.
Related articles:
- Stitch Society addresses textiles skills shortage
- EEF set to outlines impact of apprenticeship levy
- Government warned over cost of apprenticeships
The UK leaving the EU has already seen the textiles and fashion industry bring a lot of production back to the UK, also partly thanks to the new technologies and techniques within manufacturing.
David Nieper celebrated 55 years of business last year and proudly boasts that it has never taken production overseas at any point. The firm is proud of its Derbyshire heritage and has a long history of recruiting and training people locally.
Christopher Nieper, managing director of the family business, David Nieper, explained: “Our company has always supported local skills, however with the changing market conditions British skills are now more ‘de rigueur’ than ever, which is why we are making further investment in our sewing academy. It forms parts of our ‘act local, think global’ strategy for growth.
“At David Nieper, at the coalface of British fashion manufacturing local culture has been woven into our collections at every level for decades; from the swing tags personally signed by the dressmakers, to the collection of iconic Derbyshire landscape photography included with customer orders.
“We are a living breathing example of how local culture translates into a global fashion brand, by acting local and thinking global we leave our customers in Europe and beyond, in no doubt as to the local influences and heritage of their garment.”
David Nieper first set up the sewing academy in 2015 to address the skills shortage in the UK’s fashion and textiles industry. Trainees at the Academy benefit from working with experienced seamstresses where skills are passed onto the younger generation.
The Sewing Academy acts as a platform for trainees to pursue a variety of careers in fashion manufacturing from dress making to pattern cutting, fabric cutting, design, knitwear and quality control.
