The Vocational Aspect of Secondary and Further

Education

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Some notes on education for tailoring

S. Heath , W.J. Orange & R.F. Palôt

To cite this article: S. Heath , W.J. Orange & R.F. Palôt (1949) Some notes on education
for tailoring, The Vocational Aspect of Secondary and Further Education, 1:2, 115-133, DOI:
10.1080/03057874980000021

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 SOME NOTES ON EDUCATION FOR TAILORING
By S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N G E , R. F. P A L O T
Late Students of Huddersfield Training College
( These notes are not claimed to be a complete account of this subject. They represent information
collected, at the suggestion and with the guidance of their Training College, by thefirst three qualified
tailors ever to be givenfull-time training as teachers. They had to obtain this informationfor them-
selves as it is nowhere else recorded. Many parts of our system of technical education have never been
written up and there is much work waiting for the historians of vocational education.--EDITOR.)

I. Introduction
Our notes cover only that part of the clothing industry pertaining to tailoring
(as distinct from dressmaking, millinery, etc.), but the importance of our task
is reflected in the employment of 25o,ooo workers in the tailoring trade. 1
The clothing industry of Great Britain, one of the main industries in the
country, is a vital factor in the national economy, and since clothing, like food
and shelter, is an essential requirement of life we feel justified in claiming
attention for our findings.
We have endeavoured, in this enquiry, to give a picture of the background of
education in the tailoring trade, and although we do not pretend to have
covered the whole field in the time at our disposal, we have been able to estab-
lish a useful cross-section of opinions and facts about tailoring schools, condi-
tions of employment and so on. We are indebted to the Board of Trade, Work-
ing Party Reports (Heavy Clothing), i947, from which we have been able to gather
many facts and statistics which would not otherwise have been available to us.
In the course of our investigation we have interviewed people concerned with
many aspects of the trade. T h e y included authorities from the following
fields:-
Merchant Tailoring
Wholesale Clothing Manufacture
Industrial Design
Workers' Associations
Journalism
Teaching of Tailoring Subjects
Organisation and Supervision of Tailoring Education
We are grateful to them for their help, and are aware that any virtues in what
we have written will be largely due to them, and that the defects arise from our
own lack of competence and understanding.

2. Definitions of Retail and Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring

It is necessary that the reader shall clearly understand the terms 'Wholesale
Bespoke Tailoring' and 'Retail Bespoke Tailoring'. We have chosen to define
them as follows:--
x I6 Education for Tailoring
(a) Retail Bespoke Tailoring includes the majority of small businesses, and
refers to those people engaged in making garments to the measurements
and specifications of the individual. Those employed in this section of
the trade are usually capable of making a garment throughout, and it is
here that the true craftsman is found.
(b) Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring includes the larger workshops and factories,
still engaged in making to individual measurements and specifications,
but worked on systems of divided labour, or mass-production. Here, an
operator is usually skilled in only one or two of the operations in garment
manufacture, and the conditions vary considerably. At one end of the
scale we have the high-class sub-divisional workshop where the work is
not highly divided and handwork and craftmanship are still maintained,
and at the other, the highly-divided mass-production systems where as
m a n y as a hundred operatives handle one job.

3. Distribution, Number and Size of Tailoring Departments

I n approaching this question there arises the need for making a decision on
what constitutes a Tailoring Department in our schools and colleges. We found
the term 'tailoring' so loosely used as to include the vast number of what, for
lack of a more suitable term, we might call 'Make-do and Mend' classes for
housewives. W e considered this type of class outside the scope of our enquiry,
and upon confining our investigations to those schools teaching tailoring as a
trade, we found the number strikingly small and seemingly inadequate.
The information which we have gathered is as complete and accurate as we
could make it, but it cannot be regarded as conclusive, and we hope to be able
to add to it at some later date.
The distribution o f the Tailoring Departments known to the City and Guilds
of London Institute and to the other authorities we consulted is as follows:--

North of England . . . . Blackburn

,, ,, - - - - Liverpool
. . . . Bradford
. . . . Halifax
. . . . Huddersfield
. . . . Leeds
. . . . Todmorden
Midlands . . . . . Derby
. . . . . Leicester
,, . . . . . Wellingborough
London . . . . . . Barrett Street Technical
School ~'~
,, . . . . . . Bloomsbury Technical
School for Women ~
(a) Ladies' tailoring only.
 S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N G E + R. F. P A L O T II 7

London . . . . . . Borough Polytechnic <~)

. . . . . . Hammersmith Technical
School for Women ('>
,, - . . . . North-Western Polytech-
n i c t~)
,, . . . . . . Regent Street Polytechnic
. . . . . Shoreditch Technical In-
stitute
,, - . . . . . Sir John Cass Technical
Institute
,, - . . . . . Woolwich Polytechnic (+)
Ireland . . . . . . Cork
The City and Guilds of London Institute has provided the following informa-
tion about the courses for its examinations.

LIST OF COLLEGES CONDUCTING CLASSES IN TAILORS' CUTTING

AND TAILORING IN PREPARATION FOR CITY AND GUILDS
EXAMINATIONS
Tailors' Cutting and Tailoring
Division I--Retail, Men's or Women's Garments Grade of Examination
Blackburn Municipal Technical College- - - - - Inter. Final.
Liverpool City School of Art - - -
T h e Sir J o h n C a s s T e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e , L o n d o n
Wellingborough Technical Institute, Northants
Todmorden Technical College - - -
Bradford Technical College . . . .
Huddersfield Technical College - - -
Crawford Municipal Technical Institute, Cork
Division II--Wholesale, Men's Garments
Blackburn Municipal Technical College- -
Liverpool City School of Art - - -
T h e Sir J o h n C a s s T e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e - -
Wellingborough Technical Institute, Northants
Bradford Technical College . . . .
Halifax Municipal Technical College - -
Leeds College of Technology - - -
Crawford Municipal Technical Institute, Cork
Division II--Wholesale, Women's Garments
Blackburn Municipal Technical College- -
Liverpool City School of Art - - -
T h e Sir J o h n C a s s T e c h n i c a l I n s t i t u t e - -
Wellingborough Technical Imtitute, Northants
Bradford Technical College . . . .
Crawford Municipal Technical Institute, Cork
Division II--Wholesale, Men's or Women's Garments
Leeds College of Technology - - - - Full Techno-
logical C e r -
tificate
(a) Ladies' tailoring only.
 x x8 Education for Tailoring

T h e following t a b l e gives the n u m b e r s o f students a n d the n u m b e r s o f staff

e m p l o y e d in t a i l o r i n g d e p a r t m e n t s d u r i n g the session x947-48.

TABLE I

Schools

Full-time Part.time
Full-time Part-time Evening
Teachers Teachers
Day Day Students
Students Students (a)

Blackburn - - -- 0 I 0 O 35
Bradford - - - 0 2 o O 78
Halifax - - - I 2 0 34 76
Huddersfield - - 0 5 0 O I63
Leeds - - - 7 6o 25 z5o I~2OO
Todmorden - - I 2 0 12 24
Leicester - - - O I 0 O i2
WeUingborough - - O 3 0 O 9I
Barrett Street - -
4 2 IX6 5 57
Regent Street - - 5 34 4I O 795
Shoreditch - - I O 25 O IO
Sir John Cass Institute- I 3o L 0 6 7oo
Cork - - - 0 I i 0 O 74

4. Liaison between Technical Colleges and Industry

L i a i s o n is a c c o m p l i s h e d b y m e a n s o f a d v i s o r y c o m m i t t e e s , c o m p o s e d o f t r a d e
experts, business owners, t r a d e u n i o n officials, a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f e d u c a t i o n .
T h e v a l u e o f these c o m m i t t e e s varies c o n s i d e r a b l y a n d a c c o r d i n g to the d e g r e e
o f interest d i s p l a y e d b y t h e local t r a d e in the T e c h n i c a l College.
A t one College w h e r e the C l o t h i n g D e p a r t m e n t deals a l m o s t exclusively w i t h
W h o l e s a l e Bespoke T a i l o r i n g the close liaison w i t h the t r a d e is reflected in t h e
v i t a l i t y a n d constructive w o r k o f its c o m m i t t e e . T h e m e m b e r s a r e t w e n t y in
number and include
Employers,
Employees,
F a c t o r y m a n a g e r s a n d foremen,
R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t r a d e societies,
T h e H e a d o f the C l o t h i n g D e p a r t m e n t ,
T h e P r i n c i p a l o f t h e College.
T h e a d v a n t a g e s o f this close c o - o p e r a t i o n a r e most m a r k e d , a n d its results m a y
be stated thus:--

(a) A l l m o d e r n e q u i p m e n t a n d m a c h i n e r y , often o f such a n a t u r e as to b e too

expensive for i n s t a l m e n t b y e d u c a t i o n authorities, is m a d e a v a i l a b l e
(a) W h ~ an evening student attends twice in a week he is counted as two students.
 S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N G E , R. F. P A L ( ) T xI9
to the college by local factories. The industry seems most generous,
and has been responsible for the addition of a Reece button-hole
machine, for example, which would have cost the authorities some
;~2OO.
(b) Material is available from the short lengths left over from factory con-
tracts, as a result of which the pupils in the tailoring classes are kept
well supplied. This makes for effective economy at any time, but at
this present time of shortage it is a boon indeed.
(c) The Department has available a source of supply of knowledge and new
methods being practised in industry, which allows the teaching staff
to keep abreast of modern developments a n d style.
(d) Exchange of technical information arises. For example, factories send
their patterns to the College for advice and the Clothing Department
will supply patterns to the trade.
(e) Monetary subsidies from industry allow the presentation of prizes, which
take the form of challenge cups, shields, monetary awards, and scholar-
ships. Some of the trophies are presented by firms and others are pur-
chased from the prize fund. Adjudication of the competitions is
carried out by the advisory committee.

One of the large factories encourages its employees to attend the part-time
day classes and allows them time off with pay. Furthermore the firm pays
travelling expenses and fees for the course (to students gaining 8o per cent. pass).
In the event of an employee gaining a City and Guilds certificate the following
awards are made.
TABLE 2

Awards for Success Full Tech- Final Inter.

School Internal
nological Examination

Firms: £s. d. ~, s. d. £ s. d.
(Money prize) 3 3 o ~ 2 o I I 0
Fees Paid- - - Yes Yes Yes
Fares (day students) - Yes Yes Yes
School Prizes - - Scholar- Scholar- Scholar-
ship ship ship
Medals and Cups

After this convincing display of the advantages of liaison, it is well to reflect

upon the one serious disadvantage which makes itself apparent in the College.
The influence of local industry can be seen in the curriculum of the school.
It must be observed that there is a majority of trade representation on the ad-
visory committee though against this must be weighed the executive powers of
the educational representatives. The employer or factory manager, however
I2o Education for Tailoring

altruistic his motives might be, tends to favour a syllabus of training which will
produce for him, in the shortest possible time, an efficient operator or crafts-
man. H e expects the methods which are taught to be directly applicable to his
class of trade, and there is no doubt that the schools can perform this function
admirably. From the educationists' point of view, however, it is not sufficient
to confine learning tO methods and operations of immediate benefit.
At the present time, the tailoring trade lacks craftsmen, but the future business
owner or manager usually comes from the ranks of the craftsmen. With this
Iong-term aim in view, we think that it is essential that subjects other than
tailoring and cutting should be taught. Fashion-drawing, textiles, business
management, English, all have a place in the curriculum if we are to open out
to the student a vista of the wide scope which our trade presents to young
ambition. We feel sure that an outlook of this kind would do much towards
attracting to this craft the young people of good intelligence who are increas-
ingly difficult to draw to the trade. Furthermore it would do m u c h to en-
courage them during the tedious period of apprenticeship, and would thus
lower the wastage rate.
T h e wastage rate is a subject upon which we have at present no information
from the workshops, but it is worthy of note that one H e a d of a D e p a r t m e n t
spoke of 25 per cent. wastage due to 'lack of interest'!
I n support of our views on the curriculum we quote the Working Party ReaOort
on Heavy Clothing. s
'Inborn talents do not flower of their own accord--they require to be developed,
trained and encouraged. Any boy or girl with artistic gifts--whether great or small
--will benefit from a formal art training and a knowledge of anatomy; if they are to
enter the clothing industry, they must also be convinced that it offers interesting
work and good prospects. Suitable machinery already exists in the form of classes
at schools, art schools and technical colleges. But the instruction given in these
places is insufficiently co-ordinated, and there is no proper association between
them, the educational authorities in general, and the clothing industry. This is not
a problem which firms can solve by individual action, though very large firms may
be able---for example, by assisting art schools and technical collegesfinancially in return
for a measure of control--to contribute to its solution; effective action can only be taken
by somebody entitled to speak for the industry as a whole.'
Bearing in mind that the foregoing observations have been concerned with
liaison in the Wholesale Bespoke Trade, let us now consider the case of a College
which deals exclusively with Retail Bespoke Tailoring. T h e advisory com-
mittee is composed of five m e m b e r s : - -
A trade unionist,
T w o employers,
A representative of a trade association,
A teacher.
Here, contrary to our findings at the other College, liaison with the trade was
almost moribund, and it is not surprising that we found a sad lack of equipment
 $. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N O E , R. F. P A L O T I2I

and materials, so acute as to impede severely the proper working of the de-
partment.
I n our various interviews we enquired into the reasons for this lack of trade
support, and some conflicting evidence is to hand. Some education authorities
say that it is apathy on the part of the trade which prevents the expansion of
tailoring education. Questions to master-tailors often elicit the opinion that
the only way to teach the trade is the 'old hard way' of the workshop learner
or apprentice.
But the opening of the Tailor and Cutter School of Tailoring, in J a n u a r y
i948 , seems to confound any suggestions of trade apathy in London, at any
rate. This school, of which we have supplied further information in section 9
of the report, has been financed by a subscription o f £ 5 o , o o o from the Woollen
Merchants' Association matched by an investment of £5%ooo by the directors
of The Tailor and Gutter. The courses in practical tailoring and cutting, it
will be seen, cost the student approximately £ 5 ° in each subject, and we are told
that the classes are over subscribed. Where then is the evidence of apathy on
the part of the trade, or the lack of demand from the public?

5. Availability of Technical Education and arrangements for small one-man businesses

in small towns
So far as we can ascertain there are at present no suitable arrangements for
technical education in tailoring in small towns. We hope that the County Col-
lege scheme will change this situation in the near future.

6. Preliminary education best suited to an entrant to the trade

The answers which we received upon putting this question were diverse,
indeterminate, and unsatisfactory. We q u o t e : - -

A Technical Journalist - - - 'Good general education.'

A Teacher . . . . - 'Good type elementary student invariably
does well. Secondary School types with
a leaning to the trade will always do
well.'
A Master Tailor - - - - 'Secondary School education above aver-
age.'
A Factory Manager - - - 'Sound general education, with stress upon
art and design, handicrafts and arith-
metic.'
A Teacher - - - 'Asks for school certificate standard, but
never gets it I Takes all comers.'
We will, however, venture to record our own opinion which comes from a
little teaching experience. Give us a lad who has been taught to think for him-
self! That is the primary requisite. Let him be trained in observation. Give
him a c o m m a n d of the King's English that he may readily understand the
spoken word. Teach him how to assimilate knowledge. We have found a low
I22 Education for Tailoring
standard of education in those who have passed through our hands, and we
have found the work of technical instruction sadly hampered by a lack of the
rudiments o f the three 'R's'.

7. T rpe of lad entering trade

We feel that this part of the enquiry is of vital importance, but we h"ave found
it most difficult to identify any particular type of entrant to the trade. T h e y
cannot be related to any specific groups or combinations of intelligence and
aptitudes. Most of the students were of average or below average intelligence,
and we have met few lads of outstanding ability. We had hoped to supply
statistics on I.Q.s., but the record cards which we examined were devoid of this
very desirable information.
Nevertheless, we had the opportunity of observing closely a group of 41
tailoring students, and certain facts which emerged from an analysis of the group
seem worthy of close consideration.
I. O f the students in the observation group 61 per cent. had parents engaged
in some branch of the tailoring trade, 3 ° per cent. were from parents in other
occupations, 9 per cent. were orphans.
2. Racial considerations influence entrance to the trade; of the total number
in the group 51 per cent. were Jews. O f the 3° per cent. of parents not in the
trade x7 per cent. were Jews.
3. I o per cent. of the total were physically handicapped.
It would seem from these findings that at present aptitude for the craft is a
minor consideration, greatly outweighed by circumstances of environment and
birth.
These observations were made upon a group of entrants to the Retail Bespoke
trade in London. At Leeds, the high proportion of Jews is still marked, but the
effects of environment are even more marked. It is natural that a lad growing
up in the Leeds area, surrounded by clothing factories, should take to the tailor-
ing trade for the simple reason that it is a job to go to.
It seems deplorable that ability and aptitude for the trade should figure so
little in the selection of its entrants. Take the case of the subject X in the
observation group.
Here is a lad put to the trade because his father is a tailor before him. Age
x6½ years. Lives in the country. Travels 25 miles to school each day. Utterly
inept. His tailoring efforts are hopeless and it is painfully apparent that he will
never make a tailor. Yet, interrogation proves him to be quite bright and sure
of himself with horses! His ambition is to be manager of a riding-stable and
later a race-horse owner. He tides his own pony at week-ends, and he has
broken it in himself.
Cripples are a problem. Why is it generally accepted that physically handi-
capped persons should be tailors? Surely an office stoool is as kind to a false leg
as the tailoring bench? Yet one of the reasons for the trade being unattractive
 S. H E A T H , ~vV. J. ORANGE, R. F. PAL(~T I2 3

to young people is this unmerited stigma that tailors are either cripples or
deformed oddities.
Here we might consider the case of subject Y in the group. His age is 18 years
7 months. Father a postman. Lives in a block of tenement flats. While evacu-
ated he burnt his leg on a motor-blke exhaust pipe, and after an unsuccessful
bone-grafting operation, the leg was amputated. Before the accident he had set
out to be an engineer's draughtsman, but after leaving hospital he was awarded
a special scholarship for free tuition in tailoring, plus £ 4 4s- od. per term. This
lad is quiet, morose, and obviously brooding, and the standard of his work is
very mediocre. It is apparent that he will have great difficulty in finding an
employer ready to pay him the minimum wage scale for the low grade of work
which he will produce.
At Leeds, we did find a man genuinely attracted to the work. His definite de-
sire to work on cloth had led him to abandon his mechanics career for tailoring.
Less satisfactory though, was the youth who had taken up tailoring because he
wished to accompany his pal!
Anyone reading these observations will probably enquire for details of apti-
tude and selection tests which exist in the trade. This subject is dealt with in
section 13 below.

8. The Vocational Training Scheme (Retail Bespoke Tailoring) at Government Training

Centres
This is a scheme of training sponsored b]~ the Government and agreed upon
by the Ministry of Labour and National Service and the Retail Bespoke Tailor-
ing Wages Council of England and Wales.
The training period, which is divided into two parts, is of 6o weeks' duration.
The syllabus was drawn up by the special committee mentioned above. I t is
purely a tailoring course. Cutting is not included because it is said to be a too
specialised stage of tailoring.
The first period is of 36 weeks, and is taken at a Government Training Centre,
of which there are several in different parts of the country. These initial weeks
at the centre are used for instruction in all the operations of machine and hand
sewing. After an observation period of one month, it is decided to which section
o f the tailoring trade the pupil is most fitted, and the remainder of the first
period of the course is then given over to specialised training in coats or vests
or trousers, according to the aptitude shown. Practical tests in the weeks 34,
35 and 36 mark the end of the first part of the course.
I f the trainee has passed the tests satisfactorily he then enters the employ of
an establishment which has been approved by the committee. Here the trainee
is given further practical experience in the full range ofoperatious taught during
his initial training.
No definite selection tests a r e available and the only conditions imposed are
that a candidate should have the ability to take pains, the full use of both hands
and reasonable vision with or without glasses. He should also be able to move
12 4 Educationfor Tailoring
a b o u t freely although the fact that he is unable to stand for long periods need
not d e b a r h i m from entry.
Advisory Committees are set up on a regional basis. Representatives o f
employers a n d o f employees serve on these committees. T h e i r object is to main-
tain liaison with the scheme a n d with individual trainees. T h e y advise the
Ministry o f L a b o u r when doubts a b o u t suitability arise.
T h e n u m b e r accepted for training varies f r o m district to district in direct
relation to the opportunities o f employment. Control is exercised b y periodic
consultations between the trade a n d the Ministry o f L a b o u r . E m p l o y m e n t after
training is covered b y an a r r a n g e m e n t u n d e r which employers guarantee to
keep trainees for one year.
T h e following is the standard scale o f allowances m a d e while the trainee is at
the centre.
T.~LE 3
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE D U R I N G STAGE I OF COURSE

Trainees living away from

Trainees living at home home

Age Rate Males Females Males Females

S. d. $. d. $. d. ~,s.d.
Twenty and over A 3 o o 2 7 o i ~5 o I 5 o
Twenty and over+one
dependant , - - B 3 5 o 2 12 0 2 0 0 I IO 0
Twenty and over+wife
and two children - C 3 15 o 3 2 o 2 I0 0 2 0 0
Twenty and over+ adult
dependant - - D 3 I0 0 2 17 o 2 5 o i i3 o
Nineteen years - - 2 7 6 '9 I O i 5 o I 0 0
Eighteen years - - I 17 6 i 13 o 19 o 17 o

At the beginning of Stage I I of the course the trainees receive the m i n i m u m

Board o f T r a d e rates t h u s : - -
M a l e s - - r a t e o f m a n w h o has been in trade 8 years.
F e m a l e s - - r a t e o f w o m a n w h o has been in trade 7 years.
T h e e m p l o y e r is reimbursed (in consideration of-the additional cost incurred
b y supplying additional training) b y a g r a n t from the Ministry o f L a b o u r , for
Male Workers Female Workers
15s. to Ios. per week. 8s. to 6s. per week.
T h e r e are in this scheme of training possibilities which m i g h t be further
exploited. A careful evaluation o f the methods used at the centres a n d o f their
results would be valuable to education and to the tailoring trade.
 S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N O E , R. F. P A L O T Io 5

9. The Tailor and Cutter Academy

The Academy was established in i866 by John Williamson who was succeeded
by A. S. Bridgeland who established the weekly newspaper. Bridgeland also
amassed the most valuable collection of fashion drawings, running to thousands,
and gave them to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Academy claims to
have taught, and to be teaching, students from all parts of the world.
The Association of Wholesale Woollen Merchants, realising the need for
technical training for Tailors, has subscribed £5o,ooo to the Academy for the
purpose of its improvement and to pay the fees of certain deserving students.
The Academy offers the following courses:--
(a) In the School of Tailoring. Diploma Course; 6 months; fee £52. (A
refresher course may be taken under special agreement.)
The school claims that this course is equal to three years of an apprenticeship
in an ordinary tailor's shop and that it covers all aspects of tailoring.
(b) In the School of Cutting.
Three types of full-time day courses (hours Io A.M. to Z2 noon and
I P.M. to 4 P.M. five days per week), and evening classes (hours 6 P.M.
to 8 P.M.).
(1) Diploma course-- 3 months day; Ladies' and Gentlemen's gar-
ments; fee £4 ° . Covering the cutting of most garments in everyday use.
(2) Specialised course--2 months day; Ladies' and Gentlemen's gar-
ments; fee £26.
(3) Refresher course--I month day; Ladies' and Gentlemen's gar-
ments; fee £i6. Covering a smaller selection of Diploma Course.
(4) Evening Classes--21 lessons; Ladies' and Gentlemen's garments;
fee £Io. Covering a selection of garments.
It is not specified who makes the selection, but it seems likely that students
make the selection themselves with guidance from the tutors.
The Academy also offers Correspondence Courses, which it claims to send
to all parts of the world, and these again comprise:--
(I) Diploma Course--3o lessons; Ladies' or Gentlemen's cutting; fee £x6.
(2) Refresher Course--i 5 lessons; Ladies' or Gentlemen's cutting; fee £ i o .
All fees may be paid by instalments. Upon completion of course at the
Academy a certificate of attendance is given and after any of the diploma courses
a student may sit for the Academy's Diploma. No course is intended to take a
student through any examination other than those of the Academy.

i o. City and Guilds of London Institute

This Institute sponsors a comprehensive course in tailoring. The syllabus,
intended for evening schools, puts the minimum age of entry at x6 years, and
recommends that the student should on entry have completed satisfactorily a
part-time course in at least English, arithmetic, drawing and tailoring.
126 Education for Tailoring

During the course of either 5 or 6 years' study, examinations are held for
progressive awards as f o l l o w s : -
Years z and 2 - - I n t e r m e d i a t e certificate: examination in practical tailoring,
cutting and theory.
,, 3 and 4--Final certificate: advanced examinations in practical tailor-
ing, cutting and theory.
,, 5 and 6--Full technological certificate: ultimate examinations in prac-
tical tailoring and cutting and textiles.
The additional subject of fashion drawing must be taken concurrently with this
course.
I t is envisaged by the examiners that the students are already working in
some branch of the tailoring trade and that their studies are complementary to
their daily work. I t would seem, therefore, that a student gaining the award of
the full technological certificate would have achieved a qualification of high
value. I t is disappointing to record that such is not so. This qualification, while
recognised by most education authorities, is either unknown or accorded limited
recognition by most employers. This m a y be due to the fact that the City and
Guilds of London Institute eaters for a diversity of trades. I t will be interesting
to see what standards are laid down by the projected Clothing Institute,
mentioned in section 15 below.
1I. Conditionsof Work. Trade Union Agreements
National agreements between certain sections of the trade and the National
Union of Tailors and G a r m e n t Workers have been in operation for a n u m b e r of
years and it is in pursuance of these arrangements that existing m i n i m u m rates
of wages and hours of work are regulated by the Wages Council.
T h e Statutory Council on Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages 4 gives compre-
hensive information of wage rates. T h e m a x i m u m for male workers, after
5 years' employment in the trade, is 2s. 3[d. per hour, which is Io9 s. per 48
hour week or 99s. z id. per 44 hour week.
T h e rates o f those most likely to be engaged in technical studies are as
follows : -
Male Indentured Apprentices
Area ' A '
zst year = 2os. per week.
2nd ,, = 27 s. 6d. ,,
3rd ,, = 4os. ,,
4th ,, = xs. 4½d. per hour = 66s. per 48 hour week
5th ,, = Is. zod. ,, ---- 88s ,, ,, ,,
Male Learners
ISt year = 25 s. per week
2 n d ,, = 3os. ,,
3 r d ,, = 42s. 6d. ,,
4 t h ,, = xs. 4½ per hour = 66s. per 48 hour week.
5th ,, = IS. Iod. ,, ~ 88s. ,, ,, ,,
 S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N G E , R° F. PAL(~T I2~

The conditions of apprenticeship (in Retail Bespoke tailoring) include these:

Apprentices are employed for 5 years, and bound to the trade for 5 years; em-
ployers undertake to instruct the apprentices to the best of their power and skill
on one or more specified garments; no overtime for first 3 years; no piece work.
Learners are employed by an employer who provides facilities for learning
the following:--
(I) general trade of under-pressing and pressing off;
(2) making throughout skirts or cassocks; o r -
(3) three or more operations in coats, vests or trousers.
A learner must not be employed more than 6 months on any one operation
and he must be registered as a learner.
T h e method of reckoning experience covers technical education thus: 'Where
any worker has, after the age of 14 years and prior to his employment in the
tailoring trade, received continuous instruction in tailoring at any school or
other institution in a technical class approved by the Wages Council, for the
purpose of reckoning the period of the worker's apprenticeship, learnership or
other employment in the trade the whole of such period of instruction after the
age of I4 years shall be treated,
'(a) as though it were an equal period of apprenticeship, learnership, etc., if
the Wages Council has so approved that class, or
'(b) as though it were one-half of an equal period o f apprenticeship, learner-
ship, etc.'
In the Retail Bespoke trade, all male workers receive the full rate of 2s. 3~d.
per hour (area 'A') after 5 years' employment in the trade, but the provisions of
the Wholesale Bespoke schedule s stipulate the payment of the full minimum
rate to male workers after 'not less than 3 years' employment after the age o f
19 or, in the case of cutters--not less than 4 years after the age of I9 in actual
cutting processes, including not less than 3 years as a measure-cutter'.
Female workers are employed in the Wholesale Bespoke trade as machinists,
finishers, fixers, etc., and are still mostly recruited as school-leavers. T h e y can
be absorbed into normal production as soon as the employer considers them
sufficiently skilled, or as soon as they do not wish to receive any further training.
Under existing agreements on time rates they do not receive the full adult rate
until they have had 4 years' employment in the trade, whereas piece-work rates
are the same for all workers. Obviously a girl will want to earn full rate as
quickly as possible, and employers will want full production as soon as possible,
and this gives the direct incentive to both employer and employee to limit
training to the teaching of a few operations or even to one. In many factories,
therefore, there are only facilities for instruction in a few operations.
The desirability of this state of affairs is a matter for debate. I f the learner
is making tailoring a career, then it is a bad thing that her knowledge of the trade
should be so limited, but since it is a fact that the average length of time for
which a female operative remains in the industry is io years, it may seem
128 Educationfor Tailoring
undesirable to spend such a large proportion of the time in training as that
represented by the 4 years' learnership.
Yet, conversely, it is not in the true interests of the worker, or the employer,
that training be too restricted. It is psychologically unsound that any one
should be employed in one or two repetitive operations for IO years, without
having developed a sense of craftsmanship and interest in the work, and it is
failure to recognise this that does m u c h to make present conditions 'sweated'
and unattractive.
T h e advantages to the industry of a worker who is readily employable and
whose knowledge is not confined to a few operations which m a y be peculiar to
one factory should be considered. T h e employer himself will a d m i t that ver-
satility is an asset in a factory, where it is often necessary to switch workers from
one operation to another, to combat illness, absenteeism or a bottle-neck in the
work.
12. We have found that statistics of the tailoring trade must be treated with
great care if they are not to be misleading, and the c o m m o n method of quoting
the clothing trade as a whole makes it difficult to obtain facts and figures of the
individual Bespoke trades. Also, since our present source of information is the
i935 Census of Production, the figures must be treated with the greatest
circumspection.
TABLE 4
SIZE OF ESTABLISHMENT

Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring Retail Bespoke Tailoring and

and Dress Making Dress Making
Average No.
Employed
No. of No.
Per cent. No. of No.
Per cent.
establish- employed of total establish- employed of total
ments employed ments employed

i i- 24 29 513 2 638 9,962 35

25- 49 56 2,088 6 216 7,282 26
5° - 99 5I 3,462 9 73 4,803 I7
1oo-199 3I 4,I33 II 33 4,454 I6
20o-299 tt 2,704 7
30o-399 } 8 2,968 8
4oo-499 1,667
5oo-749 7 4,235 II
75o-999 } 8 t7,183 46
I,ooo and
over

Total 201 37,286 IOO 967 28,168 Ioo

The number employed excludes outworkers.

 S. H E A T H , W. J. ORANGE, R. F. P A L ( 3 T t29

An obvious weakness of table 4 is that information is restricted to firms em-

ploying m o r e than io people, and when we realise that this automatically
excludes thousands of establishments where real craftsmen work, much of its
usefulness to us is nullified.
The figures in this table clearly illustrate the fundamental differences o f
establishments in the two branches of the trade under discussion, and the pre-
ponderance of firms working on highly divided systems obviously belongs to the
wholesale trade with its large factories.

DIAGRAM A

SHOWING OUTLINE OF A TYPICAL YEAR'S TRADING IN THE RETAIL

TAILORING TRADE AND THE COMPARATIVE EFFECT ON EMPLOY-
MENT AND WAGES (a)
EASTER
I00

90

80. AUGUST XMAS"-

BANK HOLIDAY PEAK m

70_

60_J

40.

i J ! i i | i i i ; i
JAN FEB H R APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SI::P OCT NOV DEC

Diagram A shows in graphical form the seasonal fluctuation of Employment,

Wages and Sales in the tailoring trade.
(a) The volume of employment, wages and sales at Easter is taken at IOO. The figures are for I936.
13° Education for Tailoring
The artificial demand caused by holiday periods is shown by the peak periods
before the Bank Holidays. Careful management enables these peak periods of
orders to be spread over several weeks; hence the Wages and Employment graphs
are smoother, but the effects of seasonal fluctuation are still clearly marked.
It will be observed that the employment figure exceeds the wages in the first
6 months of the year. This is the artificial result of short time in the trade, where
operatives 'stood off' for a day or two do not bother to register as unemployed
with the consequence that the Ministry of Labour returns show full employment
for the period. In the second half of the year much more unemployment and
temporary unemployment is recorded amongst the semi-skilled workers, where
the highly skilled workers are kept on at full time.
It may be this uncertainty of steady employment in the trade which deters the
more intelligent youngsters from entering into its ranks. The trade fluctuations
are regular to a marked degree s and this regularity might act as a pointer for
the organisation of programmes of part-time education in tailoring. J a n u a r y
and February, for example, might be a suitable time for a short-time course.
By such means the fluctuation in employment might be turned to advantage.

13. Selection Techniques

It is regrettable that no attempt has been made to devise aptitude or attain-
ment tests for use in the tailoring trade or in the schools of tailoring.
The conditions of entry for the vocational training scheme of the Ministry of
Labour, quoted in section 8 above, show clearly the haphazard selection
methods which exist : 'The candidates should possess the ability to take pains
• . have the use of both hands, and a reasonable sight with or without
.

glasses . . . be able to move about freely.'

A factory manager whom we interviewed and who has selected hundreds of
new entrants to the trade, told us that he places much importance upon the
shape of the hands and fingers which he always observes on occasions of selec-
tion. The hands, he suggests, should be of the sensitive type with slender, supple
fingers and soft skin. He also classed aptitude for art and design as a distinct
advantage.
As simple as the statement seems, it might be one of the clues for which we
are searching. It seems possible that a test for sensitive hands could be applied
scientifically by using such an apparatus as the Aesthesiometer to measure
cutaneous sensibility. However, a simple test of one characteristic is unlikely to
be adequate.
14. The tailoring trade has the proud tradition of being the oldest craft in
existence. In the thousands of years since man first covered his nakedness the
skill of our trade has been handed down and with it in our country the surname
Taylor, which to-day is as prevalent as Smith and more prevalent than Jones
or Brown, as many telephone directories indicate.
It is difficult to determine when organised education for tailoring first started;
even to-day the apprenticeship system prevails in the retail side of the trade,
 S. H E A T H , W. J. O R A N G E , R. F. P A L ( ~ T I3I

although the life of the apprentice is very different from that at the beginning of
this century. Then he often lived a nomad existence, laden with 'goose' and 'don-
key', accompanying the journeyman tailor in the tedious process of 'whipping
the cat'.
The first world war brought about the revolution of mechanisation in the
tailoring industry, and it was in I9I 9 that the mass-production factories which
had sprung up to cope with uniform production, turned their interests towards
the civilian market. This marked the first appearance of large-scale factory
production of bespoke tailored clothes, and was the forerunner of the huge
multiple businesses which exist to-day.
These changes in the trade did much to replace the craftsman by semi-skilled
labour. Until this time, the accepted method of educating entrants was by ap-
prenticeship to the master-tailor, but the development of divisional systems of
work made this no longer necessary, and the teaching of the master-tailor was
replaced in the factories by the instruction of small learner groups. Here the
newcomer to the trade was taught the first simple operations and put to work,
usually as a baister or button hand until increasing efficiency fitted him for
more responsible work.
It was probably those conditions which created the demand from ambitious
youngsters for tailoring classes which could give them the all-round knowledge
of the trade denied to them by the new factory conditions. Consequently, in the
I92o's tailoring classes began to open and the present teaching establishments
mostly date from that time.
The second world war, while disrupting the normal development of the in-
dustry, did much to increase the efficiency of factories of the Wholesale Bespoke
type. The industry made 4o9 millions of garments for war purposes, and the
'demob' plan involved outfitting over 5 million men at a time when the labour
force was reduced by one-third.
At the present time there is an acute demand for clothes which must last for
some years, and the need for new entrants to the tailoring trade is keenly felt in
both the Retail and the Wholesale Bespoke branches.

15. Conclusions
It would seem that there is a need for a National College, which could be an
education centre for the Retail Bespoke trade (Leeds already fills this r61e for
Wholesale Bespoke).
The suggestion of apathy on the part of the employers is refuted by the
evidence of the subscription from the woollen trade to the Tailor and Cutter
Academy.
The 'Tailor and Cutter' is a commercial establishment, concerned with
making profits; the over-subscription of their present classes suggests that they
are supplying a need of the tailoring trade, and when we consider that the
entrants pay the heavy fees quoted in the syllabus, we can surely accept the
point without any further doubt.
x32 Education for Tailoring
When we reflect on the statement from representatives of an Educational
Authority that the development of schools is impeded by the general a p a t h y
which exists a m o n g employers, we are inclined to discredit it, and conclude
either that Education Authorities are not offering what the trade requires, or
that the ' a p a t h y ' exists in the Educational Administration itself, and not with
the employers.
I t seems likely, too, that the future programmes of further education will
create a d e m a n d for classes which could never be met by the existing facilities
and only action now can prepare the way in time.
We record here, as further evidence of the need for more tailoring education,
a leading article from an evening p a p e r of September 6, 1947"--
'A ~i,ooo, ooo scheme to make British clothes the best in the world, which is
under discussion in the clothing trade, includes the setting up of a Clothing Institute,
and efficiency examinations for tailors and dressmakers. One aim of the plan is that
no one who is not a member of the Institute should be allowed to make clothes, to
ensure that every tailor and dressmaker is I oo per cent. trained.
'Training at the Institute will be for the manager and executive as well as the
cloth worker. There will be haft-yearly examinations with three degrees -Fellow,
Member and Associate. It is planned to set up a London headquarters with
branches in the provincial clothing centres. Technicians will carry out research
into every stage of clothing production. It is hoped that the London H.Q..
will be open early next year (i948). '
Mr. L. Savoy, General Secretary of the Factory Managers' Clothing Associa-
tion, said, ' I a m confident that within 5 years we shall have the Clothing Insti-
tute formed.'
I t has become apparent to us that the field of aptitude testing and selection
is quite unexplored in the tailoring trade, and it is for those interested in the
teaching of tailoring to bend every effort in this direction, so that in the near
future we m a y have some effective solution to offer.
Cutters, managers and similar grades are not sufficiently catered for by
present educational arrangements. Cutters and designers hold some of the most
important posts in the industry. I t will have been seen from section t2 that a
cutter must serve 8 years' learnership before qualifying for his highly-skilled
task, yet day classes in Retail Bespoke cutting are practically non-existent in our
educational framework. Managers likewise must have facilities for training.
These are problems of high relevance to the industry's future efficiency, and call
for action without delay.
T h e fall in the potential n u m b e r of new entrants to trades (through the pre-
war decline in the birth-rate and the present raising of the school-leaving age),
has led to competition between industries, and to compete successfully the
tailoring trade must offer attractive wages, prospects of a career, good conditions
of work, stability of employment. At present none of these conditions is fully
satisfied in our trade, and the present lack of new entrants, particularly to the
retail trade, is only to be expected. Through education we can do m u c h to ad-
vance the interests of those bent on a career and something to promote the
 $. H E A T H ~ W. J. O R A N G E ~ R. F. P A L O T x33
satisfaction o f all workers, and surely our influence could make itself felt in other
ways also.
It became evident to us, from the very start o f our investigations, that it would
not be possible to give more t h a n a general survey o f this subject, a n d we are
fully conscious that we have done little more t h a n to touch u p o n a few o f the
complexities of education in the tailoring trade.
However, we have at least m a d e a start, a n d it is o u r sincere hope that others
will find it helpful in reaching solutions o f the problems.

REFERENCES
I. - - (z935). Cemas of Production. London: H.M.S.O.
m (t947). Heavy Clothing,Report of Board of Trade Working Party. London: H.M.S.O.
3. Ibid.
4. (I947). Pamphlet No. 602, Report of Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Council, p. 3.
London: H.M.S.O.
5. Ibid.
6. (I935). Census of Produaion.
7. SAUNDERS, C. T. (1936). Seasonal Variations in Unemployment, p. 286. London: Longmans.
8. (i947). Heavy Clothing, Report of Board of Trade Working Party, pp. 88-89. London:
H.M.S.O.