The SA clothing and textiles industries have undergone difficult restructuring over the past ten years due to the combined impact of domestic and international factors. The negative impact of this transformation is manifest in the declining contribution of the sector to total manufacturing output, its falling export share and significant contraction in sector employment. This outcome might have been different had this process of restructuring been pre-empted and accompanied by a concerted effort to up-skill remaining workers and promote innovation in the sector. This could have enabled the sector to pursue a skills-led competitiveness strategy and assist a move toward higher-cost, high quality items.

This report results from a process of consultation with the main organisations and stakeholders in the sector to identify key skills shortage and issues, and a wide ranging analysis of existing material on skills supply and demand, and factors influencing skills trends.