Jobs, Careers and Occupations

Apparel Careers, Jobs and Occupations

Apparel

Apparel and fashion companies design, manufacture, market, and/or license brands for men's, women's, and/or children's clothing, footwear, and accessories.

Apparel occupations include buyers, textile machine operators, fabric and apparel patternmakers, sewing machine operators, shoe and leather workers, upholsterers, laundry and dry-cleaning workers, fashion designers and marketers of clothing and footwear

Textile, leather, apparel and furnishings workers produce materials that clothe our bodies, cover our furniture, adorn our homes and fashion them into a wide range of products that we use in our daily lives.

Workers in a variety of occupations fall under the heading of apparel workers. Apparel workers cut fabric and other materials and sew it into clothing and related products.

Tailors, dressmakers and sewers make custom clothing, alter and repair garments for individuals. However, workers in most apparel occupations are found in manufacturing, performing specialized tasks in the production of large numbers of garments that are shipped to retail establishments for sale to the public.

Jobs range from those that employ computers to those in which the worker operates large industrial machinery and smaller power equipment, to those, which involve substantial handwork.

Most persons in textile and apparel occupations work a standard 5-day, 40-hour week. Evenings and weekend work is common for tailors, dressmakers and sewers employed in retail stores. In manufacturing, some employers add second shifts to justify the expense of new machinery. Many textile mills often use rotating schedules of shifts so that employees do not continuously work nights or days.

Much of the work in apparel manufacturing is based on a piecework system that allows for little interpersonal contact. Some apparel firms are placing more emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. Under this system, individuals work closely with one another, and each team often governs itself, increasing the overall responsibility of each operator.

Apparel Related Industries

• Design
• Sales