The Textile Centre of Excellence is a not-for-profit, industry-owned training organisation – any revenue generated is reinvested directly into the textiles sector, ensuring its continued growth and innovation. Our ultimate aim is to support organisations, not just within textiles or advanced manufacturing, but far beyond – and as a not-for-profit we do this in an agile, streamlined and effective way. Therefore, in this month’s Managing Director’s newsletter, I want to share a range of updates, developments and exciting opportunities that I’m confident will be of benefit for you and the sector.
New! Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace Course
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 12-18 May with the theme this year being ‘’community’. Being part of a safe, positive community is vital for our mental health and wellbeing and it goes without saying that our workplaces are communities – the networks we make at work can provide a sense of belonging, safety, support and give a sense of purpose.
As a Mental Health First Aider, I am excited to introduce a brand new course here at
TCoE, Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace. This 2-day nationally recognised qualification raises learners’ awareness of mental health, develops an understanding on how to support, reassure and signpost fellow colleagues to professional support. There’s no time like the present to sign yourself up or members of your team on our course with the next dates being 27 and 28 May.
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Visit
We were pleased to host a delegation from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to our centre, where we had rich discussions on everything from Skills England, apprenticeship funding, new emerging developments and sector skills needs. Thank you to colleagues from the CBI, Council and Chamber of Commerce who joined us and to Caroline Christopher and James Penn from one of our oldest member companies Camira(who have been members with us since 1976) for hosting a fantastic mill visit for our guests.
New Breakfast Briefings
Exciting times – 90 member plaques are on their way to our amazing member companies to recognise and thank them for their commitment and contributions to the industry. Watch out for an exclusive invite for a members-only breakfast briefing on Wednesday 2nd July where a chance to hear some exclusive updates from sector leaders will be accompanied by lovely food and networking. You’ll also get a chance to hear more about our new Sustainability Champions Network.
Northern Power House Ethnic Minority Business and Policy Forum
I had the pleasure of joining ahigh-level sustai
nable textile and fashion roundtable of the NPH Ethnic Minority Business and Policy Forum at the First Direct Arena in Leeds. The roundtable was preceded by an exhibition that showcased the success of sustainable fashion. Thanks to Farah Butt and Sharon Kaur Jandu OBE for their excellent chairing of the insightful discussion into how we can uncover and scale new ideas that provide sustainability for the future of the UK textile market which dovetails in with the launch of TCOE’s Sustainability Champions Network.
New date for our Industry 4.0 Champions Programme
The Textile Centre of Excellence has worked with partners to create a state-of-the-art Digital Hub to offer companies ‘hands-on’ experience with the latest industrial digital technologies including how digital technologies can optimise production processes and open up new business opportunities.
Due to extremely popular demand, for companies in textiles or manufacturing, we have added a new date with limited spaces on our fully funded i4.0 Champions Programme. Get in touch to find our more or sign up for free.
Member roundup
We’ve had so many new members in the past few weeks that we will be publishing a separate post profiling them. But in this post, I wanted to offer a very very warm welcome to the newest members to the TCoE family including David Luke Ltd, James Dewhurst Ltd., Invent Interior Solutions Ltd. and ABG Geosynthetics Ltd. We look forward to supporting you with all your training and development needs, driving innovation through working with you on sustainability initiatives and welcoming you to our breakfast briefings.
It was great to see two of the apprentices that we teach, Amy and Jacob from the amazing Abraham Moon & Sons championing technical roles in manufacturing on BBC Bitesize, which reflects the power of high-quality, employer-led apprenticeship training. Congratulations to Amy and Jacob on being celebrated by the Gatsby Foundation which is a fantastic recognition of your hard work and passion for manufacturing and also that of our amazing tutors who continue to support them on their journey.
Camira CEO and TCoE’s Chair, Alan Williams welcomed the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer and West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin to Camira’s Meltham manufacturing facility, where he enjoyed a factory tour and saw all the innovative work that Camira is doing. Congratulations to everyone at Camira including the apprentices that the Prime Minister met – your hard work is both recognised and appreciated.
As always, if you would like further information about any of the areas mentioned above or would like to meet for a centre visit or a cup of coffee, please get in touch at ShahbanAziz@textile-training.com
