Transcript Diapositiva 1

The textile-clothing industry in Italy
Carlo Bonora, Samuela Felicioni
PARTNERS
Amministrazione Provinciale di Parma Assessorato alle Politiche Scolastiche IT, Universität Eichstätt DE, Escola Professional de la Dona ES, ORT France FR, Fondazione Istituto per il Lavoro (IpL) IT,
Laboratorio delle Idee IT, Istituto Professionale “Primo Levi” IT, CGIL/CISL/UIL IT, Technical College Details RO, Management Consulting Services RO
Some data
 At European level (Eu 25), the textile-clothing industry plays a
significant role: it accounts for approximately 36.3% out of the
total number of companies, employs 23.6% of workers and
produces roughly 25.5% of turnover .
 despite the importance of the industry within the national
economy, several changes that occurred at international level
modified the productive and commercial geography and led
the industry to a decrease in competitiveness: the italian
companies are now working within an industry where the
demand has slowly increased during the last years and, with
regard to the supply, the competition of countries offering
better economic conditions is higher and higher.
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 Even if the said difficulties persist, the last available data for the year 2007
shows an improvement and signs of recovery.
 At Italian level it represents more than 60,000 companies and
approximately 580,000 workers.
 In 2006 the industry recorded an increase in its turnover accounting for
6.9% for clothing and 3.5% for textile. During the first quarter of 2007,
data confirms the recovery of these divisions.
 The export data seems to improve as well: the first quarter of 2007
recorded +1.8% for textile and +6.2% for clothing compared to the same
period of the previous year. More than half of the export business of Italian
companies is directed to the EU15, even if data shows a progressive
enlargement of trade boundaries towards areas of new industrialization:
mainly Central and Eastern Europe (approximately 20% of export) and the
Asian continent (approximately 15%).
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 Compared to the turnover data, that concerning the production during
2006 does not depict a positive framework for both divisions: the increase
of 3.2% in the quantity produced within clothing is accompanied by a
reduction of 2.4% within textile.
 Despite the trend reversal attained during 2006 and 2007, the difference
between turnover and production seems to increase in the textile and
clothing industry anyway.
 According to the associations representing the textile workers, two
structural phenomena are characterising the fashion industry: on the one
hand, the system is moving towards the intangible phases of the production
cycle and the high value-added products (thus leading to a thorough market
selection and a decrease in the quantity produced); on the other hand, the
process of reorganization keeps the company investments in the valuecreating phases within the Italian market, while the low value-added
productions are outsourced towards countries having a lower labour cost.
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 The employment indeed
continues to decrease even
if figures are not as high as
those of the previous years.
It seems to be directly
linked to the strategies
implemented by the
companies to keep up their
competitiveness and market
shares.
Table 1: Employment: absolute value in thousands and
trend variation in precentage
Table 1: Employment: absolute value in thousands and
Year
Textile
Clothing
Absolute value (in thousands)
2001
318.9
343.3
2002
320.5
342.5
2003
316.7
343.5
2004
301.6
336.3
2005
281.1
319.7
2006
270.2
311.9
Trend variation (in percentage)
2002
0.5
-0.2
2003
-1.2
0.3
2004
-4.8
-2.1
2005
-6.8
-4.9
2006
-3.9
-2.4
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trend
 The importance of the textile and clothing industry continues
to diminish within the manufacturing industry (-4.1% for
companies and -5.9% for workers).
 With regard to the companies, the recovery has proven to be
slow and not homogeneous compared to the company size.
The Istat economic indicators are calculated on the basis of
samples representing small and medium-sized enterprises,
however sometimes they under-represent the huge universe of
small and very small companies.
For small-sized enterprises, the recovery is much more
difficult.
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Geography of production peculiarities
 The textile and clothing industry in Italy is characterised by
the existence of numerous companies having very specific
functions, divided into geographic areas that are defined as
industrial ‘districts’; in Italy there are several districts with
specific production expertise.
 The region Emilia-Romagna boasts in its territory one of the
most important districts in the whole international fashion
system in the textile/clothing industry, i.e. the textile district of
Carpi. It is mainly characterised by knitwear (1,450 production
units and 5,950 workers) and garment sector (800 companies
and 3,800 workers).
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Innovation
 Some data about the investments on innovation made by the
textile-clothing industry may be gathered by Istat survey on
the innovation activities led by the Italian companies with at
least 10 employees (2002-2004), carried out within the fourth
European survey on innovation.
 By innovative activities, one means the whole of the activities
‘being necessary to develop and introduce products, services
or production processes that are technologically new or
significantly improved’.
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Innovative companies within the textile and clothing
industry per type of innovation
Economic
activity
Only product Only process Both product Total n. of
innovations
innovations
and
process innovative
innovations
companies
Textile
companies
274 (16.4%)
726 (43.5%)
669 (40.1%)
1,669
(100%)
Clothing
companies
34 (4.7%)
527 (72.6%)
165 (22.7%)
726 (100%)
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Textile companies
 In 2004 the financial commitment for innovation undertaken
on the whole by textile companies was 548,457,000 Euros
divided in the following way:
 53% in purchasing innovative machinery and plants;
 31.8% in internal research and development;
 5.3% in purchasing technology not integrated within capital
goods;
 3.6% in planning and other pre-production activities;
 3% in marketing;
 1.8% in purchasing research and development services;
 1.5% in training.
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Clothing division
 In 2004, the company expenditure for innovation was
127,804,000 divided in the following way:
 55.8% in purchasing innovative machinery and plants;
 22.5% in internal research and development;
 10.6% in purchasing technology not integrated within capital
goods;
 3.9% in training;
 3.7% in planning and other pre-production activities;
 2.7% in marketing;
 0.8% in purchasing research and development services.
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 the purchase of machinery and plants represents the prevailing
type of innovation in the traditional fields like that of textile
and clothing.
 Training plays a minor role in the two fields of our interest, as
well as in the whole of the industry.
 Literature ascribes this situation to the Italian production
structure mainly made up of small and very small enterprises
and to a low presence of highly-technological productions.
 The delay in the fashion system with regard to innovation can
be outlined by the data about the low spreading of ICTs within
companies.
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Training
 The most updated data on the offer of vocational training with public financing at
national level can be detected in the fourth survey carried out by National Agency
Isfol on this topic.
 Most of the courses concerning the textile industry were financed by training bodies
(39.5%), followed by consortiums of companies (6%), associations (5.4%), regions
and provinces (3.6% each).
 Talking about continuing training, the data presented to the Parliament in 2006
showed a low incidence in public financing on the overall expenditure for
continuing training in 2005, which is constantly decreasing compared to the
previous years: in the period 2000-2005 the share of public financing has been more
than halved.
 This data suggests moreover that the distribution of training opportunities is
strongly fragmented: the workers of bigger companies, located in the northern
regions and operating in the service sector, have more training opportunities.
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 Within the textile industry, the social partners together with the Ministries
of work and education undersigned a Protocol of Intent for the
implementation of a national integrated training plan meeting the need for
qualifying human resources in terms of planning, technological,
production, management innovation and the innovation of textile materials
and of market relations.
 The Excelsior survey shows that, for the companies of the fashion industry
needing to increase their labour force, the research time lasts approximately
6.5 months (one month more than the average within the industry) and that
the biggest difficulties lie in finding the required profiles (67% of the
cases), followed by the insufficient economic motivations (22%).
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 At the moment training still represents a marginal aspect within companies’
investments: in 2005 only 4.7% of the industry’s workers participated in
training activities (compared to an average of 16% within the whole
industry).
 A great expectation lies on the Joint Interprofessional Funds which should
ensure a higher efficiency in the organization of the training offer, above all
for small enterprises that work in disadvantaged areas or in sectors hit by
the crisis, for which it seems necessary to increasingly stimulate the
demand for training.
 They are promoted by Social Partners through specific Interconfederal
Agreements stipulated at national level.
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Forms of support to companies
 the Public Administration provides instruments to the companies in order to
support the projects of internationalization: in the last years, aside from the
financial instruments linked to the commercial penetration, the State
supported the work of companies having their production sites abroad in
order to increase the competitiveness of the Italian system.
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A glance at the health and safety of workers
 the work injuries reported in 2006 by companies in the textile/clothing
industry were 9,994, i.e. 1.2% of the total number of injuries and 4.6% of
the total of manufacturing industry. The number of injuries in the sector
follows the overall trend of progressive reduction during the years.
 Most of the work injuries reported and indemnified are due to the ‘work
environment’ (in particular, transit surfaces, ladders and platforms) and to
the lifting and transport means (means of ground transportation and lifting
means).
 The occupational diseases reported by the companies working in the
textile/clothing industry accounted for 402 in 2006, that is to say 7.7% of
the total of the manufacturing industry. The distribution by gender shows
how occupational diseases mostly hit female workers and that the most
involved class of age is that going from 50 to 64.
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Occupational diseases
 Among the 337 defined occupational diseases, 329 are not mentioned in the
list established by the law and, among the mentioned ones, 2 cases are due
to alcohol/glycole, 1 to aromatic hydrocarbons, 2 to bronchial asthma, 7 to
skin diseases, 15 to hypacusia and deafness, 13 to osteoarticular diseases
and 7 to asbestos neoplasia.
 According to the Italian Society of professional and environmental
allergologic dermatology (Sidapa), the subjects sensitized by substances
contained in fabrics in Italy are at least 60,000.
 If such a tangible damage may be possible for people wearing garments, it
is possible to presume, in part, the risks undertaken by the workers of this
sector.
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Region of reference
 The region of reference is Emilia-Romagna where most of the
interviews were concentrated, with the participation of the
region Marche.
 The companies actively working in the textile/clothing/leather
industry on 31.12.06 were 8,649, n.162 companies less than
last year.
 For several years the textile/clothing/leather and shoe industry
has been subject to a constant reduction both in the number
and in the production of plants existing in the region, as well
as for turnover, orders and export.
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Targets
 Interviews were administered to 4 targets:
 9 companies and 1 consortium of companies
 18 unitary representatives of trade unions (RSU) of the
three biggest companies
 6 school teachers, 3 trainers of vocational training agencies
(Ial Emilia-Romagna, Formart Emilia-Romagna, Enfap
Emilia-Romagna), trainers of higher education (1 manager
and 6 teachers of the Fashion Design degree course at the
University of Urbino).
 One representative of the office in charge of vocational
training at regional level; one representative of the
handicraft bilateral body in Emilia-Romagna, one
representative of Confindustria Emilia-Romagna.
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Fashion sector scenario
 According to people interviewed, three divisions within the textile-clothing
industry could mostly be hit by problems concerning training and the
creation of new skills: garment, textile nobilitation and weaving.
 Garment products are shortly described in terms of process activity:
 Creative project
 Sample collection
 Cutting
 Sewing
 Ironing
 Delivery to final customer
 In the fast-changing international scenario, the industry is characterised by a
significant and continuous variation of the product thus accelerating and
reducing the company’s response time.
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Vocational education and training system:
vocational education
Strengths:
 the involvement, by the teachers, in training and in new teaching instruments
 the integration of vocational education and training systems
Weaknesses:
 little flexibility and excessive bureaucratization of the school system
 incomplete professional pathways
 Lack of sharing and comparison opportunities between teachers and trainers of the
technical and vocational area
 lack of exchange between the professional area and the other schools of the fashion
industry
 lack of connections between teachers and companies
 Lack of specific investment plans supporting an appropriate technological
development both of the sector laboratories and of the traditional teaching classes
 demotivation of the vocational and education trainers in the industry. Teachers often
do not have a continuous professional experience and often do not know how the
real work is structured within the sector companies
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Vocational education: the principal needs to be met
 refreshing/training of teachers, especially on new technologies (textiledesign/design software, etc.)
 improving logistics in the school structure, enhancing teaching instruments
and equipment (e.g. multimedia classes, the contents of ministerial
programmes, the use of cad cam/textile, design graphic software, that
cannot be taught due to a lack of instruments and of knowledge)
 a greater specialisation in the English language with regard to the sector
terminology; organizing classes of joint teaching with experts of ICT,
introducing a greater flexibility for training pathways, for the contents of
planning and programming
 less bureaucracy
 a renewal of the teaching method/innovative teaching strategies (problem
solving, lab management and organization, evaluation systems)
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Vocational and continuing training
 The region Emilia-Romagna reorganised its own qualification system
within the industry in order to draw up again the list of professional
qualifications according to what is presently recognised as necessary by the
different production processes.
 These qualifications will be the result of certifiable learning pathways for
young people and adults, both for access to work and for on-the-job
training; each of them was compliant with the standards of the training
offer financed by the region and provinces (like the pre-conditions to have
access to the pathway of each qualification, the contents of training, its
duration, the ratio between class lessons, practicals and internships) to
ensure consistency and homogeneity on the regional area.
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Vocational and continuing training
 At the moment the included professional profiles are: clothing
worker, knitwear worker, sample garment expert, fashion
pattern maker, textile-clothing production expert, knitwear
sample expert, fashion designer, computerized system expert
for the textile and clothing planning and production.
 Studies by experts did not show particularly innovative
profiles. On the other hand, the need to innovate the traditional
profiles with regard to IT or organisational knowledge became
clear.
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Vocational and continuing training
Today vocational education and training are not adapting themselves to the said
changes:
 teachers do not often adapt themselves to new skills and work
approaches, they do not follow refresher courses, do not know the new
machinery, the coefficient of higher performance on accessories and
fabrics as well as process engineering. They hardly teach the
appropriate study system to students and the need for renovating school
programmes becomes even stronger because it is in school that basic
skills are created.
 On the other hand, families and young people do not understand that
they are surely very good in using computers but do not have
knowledge of the production situation. It is also true that after 5 years
of secondary school, one has bigger expectations than carrying out the
assembly work in the production line.
Finally, all trainers should alternate school and work for all their working life: it
is school which has to enter into the company world and not vice versa.
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University training
 The planning of training at university level is implemented in
compliance with the disciplinary and teaching independence
typical of universities, ensuring however a coordination among
similar subjects. The coordination is pursued considering the
need to face training curricula with the real complexity of work.

 With regard to the training structure, there are several technical
problems to solve in order to make the most of the network
potential: this is different according to their level of computer
literacy and personal use – within their job – of IT technologies
and Internet. Their potential is important even to implement
tutoring/mentoring activities subsequent to training and followup and requalification activities following work placement.
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University training
Weaknesses:
 The existence of higher education training pathways is very important but a
real employment consistency is still missing
 Professional profiles of the clothing industry – i.e. designers, product
managers, pattern makers – are not merely technical profiles, it is therefore
important that they have an overall view of the production process
 There is shortness of financial resources to be devoted to laboratory
activities
 As for the possibility of implementing continuing training for workers,
several red-tape problems persist and make it almost impossible for
Universities to implement refresher, qualification, specialization or
requalification courses
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Bilateralism as good practice for the quality of continuing training
Some training bilateral bodies/agencies were created (after 1993) as a first step
towards a real system of continuing training, where the key actors are social
partners (employers and trade unions) by means of the creation of joint funds.
Bilateralism wants to:
 enhance the participative approach and the strategic role of human
resources through training. The so-called ‘transversal skills’ become
very important;
 implementing the analysis of professional needs to identify training
needs, professional profiles and necessary skills;
 experimenting and programming types of bilateral cooperation in the
training field;
 improving at all levels the information among the parties and the
national and EU subjects, which monitor the management of trainingoriented resources.
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The point of view of companies and workers
 Most of them believe there is a wide gap between school and university on
one side and companies on the other.
 Some companies believe that no theoretical school can teach you how to
produce in practice: the best school is within the company, due to the
specific features of each product.
 For certain skills only, such as CAD use, there’s a need for specific
vocational training.
 Secondary school is considered to be the most difficult to modify, since it
is characterised by an excessively theoretic approach. A simple but
effective measure would be to add mandatory in-company training hours
during the training pathway.
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The point of view of companies and workers
 As regards vocational training, the opinion from companies
is not altogether negative, however the relation is hardly taking
off due to objective difficulties: vocational training bodies
cannot organise courses for a number of at least ten
participants, who however cannot be totally placed on the
market due to lack of demand.
 University as well is considered to be out of touch with
reality, although it has adapted a little to the requirements and
it seems to have understood the need to introduce mandatory
apprenticeships.
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The point of view of companies and workers
 In addition to the difficulties of the school system in providing
a training that is adequate to the needs of the productive
system, another problem is the frequent lack of adaptability of
young Italians.
 students believe that professional openings in the fashion
sector regard only fashion designers (creative profiles) and
marketing managers. They lack the contact with reality and the
awareness that fashion is much more than this: production,
monitoring and control, observation of competitors, etc.
 Vocational guidance for young people and their families is
totally missing.
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In-company training
 Training within the interviewed companies is unfortunately a knotty point.
Medium-sized companies say they attach great importance to the yearly
training plan, to which they allocate company funds or use public funds, on
the other hand the situation is less rosy if analysed in details.
 Training plans are generally decided according to the most important needs
and to the most critical training gaps.
 Training turns out to be a refresher course of a few days on some machines’
changes or replacements.
 Worker’s knowledge about in-company training is generally poor: they do
not know the financing sources from which companies get funds, they
cannot quantify the expenditure for this item, they are not involved in
decisions regarding topics to be addressed in training hours.
 The situation in small-sized companies working on behalf of a third party is
worse.
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Professional profiles
 There is a distinction between the professional needs of big and mediumsized companies and those of small-sized ones: “highly qualified staff is
required in big companies with clearly subdivided production departments
and technical offices: quality control worker, sampler, cad-cam model
maker, etc. While small-sized companies require staff able to adapt to the
various needs of the moment and technically skilled to face and solve
unexpected events and difficulties, which may arise during production”.
 The professional profiles needed in this sector are distinguished between
workers and more specialised profiles, hard to find on the market, since
these are believed to be unavailable due to the lack of generational
turnover.
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Professional profiles
 At workers level, the mostly required profiles are machinist
tailors/dressmakers and ironers.
 As regards high professionalism, the most important sector profiles are the
so called “hyperspecialised” ones: production technicians, pattern makers,
heads of department, fabric technicians, product profiles and external
quality profiles.
 Another important highly professional profile is that of tailoring technician,
hardly found on the market and having a few unique features: they are
mainly women over 50, with a lot of experience as tailors/dressmakers and
who should act as “trainers” by teaching quality in using manual abilities
with the product. But they have difficulties in teaching others, as if they
would rather keep these skills to themselves.
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Professional profiles
 Some big companies lack people who can act as intermediaries
between the Italian company and the production sites. They
should be technical profiles who know the sector well and are
skilled and available to be flexible and to move abroad. They
have to speak English and have IT skills.
 Other professional profiles can be a person in charge of the
press office and of the organisation of promotional events.
 Facing the widespread difficulty of finding staff, companies
have tried to go different ways, also simultaneously: they
applied to public job centres, to employment agencies, to
vocational training bodies and schools. The result was mostly
disappointing and it goes along with a negative opinion on
institutions and educational and vocational training system.
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Proposals to improve the training system
 The self-referentiality of the training system needs to be abandoned; the
integration among school, vocational training and university that is partly
under way is no longer enough. The role of companies in training needs to
become strategically important.
 There is the need to introduce new subjects in training pathways, such as:
organisation of timing in planning/production/promotion of company
products, company organisation, marketing, communication, group
psychology, team work.
 There is the need to establish connections and synergies in the fashion
industry. It is therefore important to know the “state of the art”, the existing
schools, what is carried out in Italy and abroad
 There is the need to reach a quality certification of training bodies, in order
to guarantee the quality level of the professional profiles coming out
 There is the need to improve relations between schools and companies,
which are still rather difficult.
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