Textiles careers in focus as Huddersfield hosts WOVEN event

Students from local schools and colleges have gained an insight into the textiles industry in West Yorkshire at the latest WOVEN Textiles Futures event at the University of Huddersfield.

The Kirklees area has a long history as a key part of the UK textiles industry, and with 10,000 people employed in the sector across West Yorkshire, the University has helped to showcase the scientific and creative aspects of textiles to local year nine and 10 learners.

Textiles Futures was hosted alongside the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and WOVEN, a Kirklees Council-funded initiative that brings business, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district together.

Course Leader of Textiles Dr Matthew Taylor said, “Textile Futures is a great event; it brings textiles alive for the students of tomorrow, introducing them to our academic subject area and the post-graduate opportunities a ‘with textiles’ design degree makes possible.”  

Discover more about fashion and textiles at the University of Huddersfield

The 65 students from eight local schools toured the University’s cutting-edge textile and fashion facilities in the Barbara Hepworth Building, learning new skills in the print workshop and viewing the graduate showcase from the recent end-of-year degree show.

UKFT also spoke to the students before the industry innovators sessions, and the visiting companies brought samples of their products with them for the students to see and touch, bringing textiles to life.

The scientific side of textiles was explored in experiments with the University’s Technical Textiles Research Centre and the print lab, and the young learners also met with textile professionals in the industry innovators zone.

The event was opened by the university’s Professor Parik Goswami, Director of the Technical Textiles Research Centre, who was also the first academic to join the board of UK Fashion and Textiles.

In a welcome message on video, Mayor Tracey Brabin said, “This event celebrates the region's rich heritage in textiles. West Yorkshire is home to a thriving textiles industry, which offers so many opportunities to the next generation of textile innovators. We are globally recognised for our high-quality cloth, and world-leading research onto a greener and more sustainable textiles industry.”