Textile training chance for trio

A TEXTILE traineeship programme is launching in Langholm this September.

Creation Mill CIC will be offering three apprenticeships to young people, aged 16-25.

Youth co-ordinator Anna Watson will be running the three-day-a-week programme, which will cover the whole textile industry from fabrics and fibre, to marketing and promotion.

There will be hands on work experience and in house tuition, as well as trips.

Anna herself studied fashion at university and said: “I knew from a very young age that I wanted to work in fashion and textiles, but finding a job in the industry can be incredibly difficult. After graduating from university, I applied to every job I could find in the UK which was remotely related to fashion.”

Even with a first class degree and three internships on my CV, she had no luck until seeing an advert for a brand assistant at Rose’s Wardrobe and landed the job.

The position evolved to include sewing work, accessory making, then designing, pattern cutting and constructing full garments.

When her bosses, Emma and Leanne Duncan, founded Creation Mill in 2021, Anna began teaching sewing workshops.

She said: “As the organisation grew, so did my responsibilities and by 2023 I was running our youth programme, overseeing hundreds of workshops each year.

“Working at Creation Mill introduced me to a host of new skills - I got to try weaving, machine knitting, fibre processing and any other area of textiles I was interested in. While I had been focussed on fashion my whole life, this opened my eyes to everything else that was happening in the industry and taught me the importance of working with people within other specialties.”

She now runs RW Manufacture while also working as Creation Mill’s youth co-ordinator.

Added Anna: “I could never have imagined how far I would come from my brand assistant job in 2021, but I am now more aware than ever of the importance of making the most out of every opportunity.

“I am so excited to be running our textile traineeship as it will give three young people the chance to try out a whole range of areas and hopefully lead to some amazing careers for them.”

For more information email Anna at [email protected]