Abstract:

Today’s Fashion-Tech landscape is in a state of flux – fashion and tech sectors are becoming increasingly more closely aligned, digitisation is key, and environmental issues are driving new processes and agendas within the industry (cf. McKinsey 2021). Accordingly, the Fashion-Tech industry is identifying new job profiles and interdisciplinary roles connected to sustainability, design, product innovation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, data analysis, management and governance, policy making, omnichannel and e-commerce, and asking for a variety of new skillsets to enter this dynamic and evolving space. Yet conversely, companies do not necessarily know the answers to how they will achieve smarter more sustainable product and business solutions or identify new potential revenue streams beyond the notion that such advancements will involve collaborative working practices. Rather they look to the next generation of upcoming entry-level talent to help transform and future-proof their businesses. Consequently, new challenges are posed to companies and Higher Education Institutions alike. In the case of the former, the question of how to attract and recruit the right Fashion-Tech talent with the necessary skillset and ideology to ensure ongoing innovation in the sector is crucial. While Higher Education must seek to mentor and prepare its graduates as hybrid practitioners for an increasingly digital future where the development of the right mind-set and mix of soft/er skills – being entrepreneurial, open to change, a team player etc., is prioritised alongside that of the necessary hard/er skills.

FTAlliance is a 3-year (2020-2023) Erasmus+ funded academia-industries partnership aimed at facilitating the exchange/flow of knowledge and co-creation within the Fashion-Tech sector to boost students’ employability and innovation potential. As part of our shared endeavour, in March 2021, online ‘Future Recruitment Workshops’ were held with HR representatives from across the 12 consortium members from European universities and the Fashion-Tech industry, to explore future job roles, skills and scope out recruitment tools and reassess job descriptions. Insights, including how students can better pitch their work were captured on Miro boards. These insights were then used to design the format for a series of podcast interviews with industry partners held between June and July 2021. Conducted with four of the companies – micro/small, medium, and large, the podcasts sought to secure a cross section of more in-depth findings on specific tools and techniques utilised by different companies– hackathons, internships, technical tasks, group/individual interviews etc., for assessing and recruiting the right multidisciplinary future fashion-tech talent. The series also yielded valuable insights on how companies have adjusted to the Covid-19 pandemic and are responding to the important issues of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in their recruitment processes.

This paper will share findings and recommendations of this research whilst highlighting pedagogical implications for Master’s level Fashion education.

Keywords:

Fashion-Tech, Academia-Industries Partnership, Employability, Future Recruitment Strategies, Digitisation, New Job Profiles, Soft/er Skills.