NSW Inquiry: Procurement Recommendations Could Lead to a Bright Future for Local TCF Manufacturing

The AFC welcomes the NSW Government's report on procurement practices, which highlights the untapped potential of local TCF manufacturing to drive economic growth and job creation.

The report identifies several critical areas where changes in government procurement policies could revolutionise the Australian fashion and textile industry, boosting local businesses and creating more job opportunities.

"The findings are a clear indication that supporting local TCF manufacturing is not just an option but a necessity to ensure the sustainability and resilience of our industry. By prioritising local content, we can empower women with job opportunities, leverage the multiplier effect of local manufacturing to drive ethical supply chains and accelerate the adoption of technology into advanced manufacturing. This is our opportunity to position Australia as a leader in innovative and sustainable products on the global stage, focusing on quality and innovation rather than competing solely on the lowest price.

"Government procurement plays a huge role in creating economic stability for manufacturers, giving them the fiscal headroom to invest in more staff, more training, and advanced equipment, which in turn drives innovation through research and development. It's crucial for the government to signal to the rest of the community that procurement decisions are no longer just about the cheapest option. This shift in focus will attract investment, foster innovation, and support the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities that can truly make Australia competitive globally," - Jaana Quaintance-James, CEO of the Australian Fashion Council.

To truly unlock the potential of the Australian fashion sector, the AFC urges the NSW Government to take bold steps in adopting these recommendations, particularly those that enhance opportunities for small businesses, support First Nations enterprises, and drive sustainability. By embracing these changes, the government can create a thriving ecosystem that fosters innovation, creates jobs, and supports local manufacturers.

Summary of Report Key Findings:

  1. Support for Local Content: There is broad support among stakeholders for prioritising local content in procurement to boost the local economy and create jobs.
  2. Modern Slavery Concerns: Current procurement practices lack transparency, leading to potential labour exploitation, especially in high-risk industries like cleaning and security.
  3. Lack of environmental and Sustainability Standards: There are currently no goals to meet or achieve any Environmental or Social sustainability standards across procurement practices.
  4. Compliance Gaps: Post-award compliance checks are infrequent, risking non-compliance with labour standards and contract obligations.
  5. Small Business Access: Small businesses face barriers in participating in procurement processes due to a lack of capacity and complex tender requirements.

Summary of Recommendations for the Australian TCF Manufacturing Industry:

To promote the advancement of local manufacturing and job creation in Australia, the AFC support prioritising the following five recommendations from the report:

  1. Prioritise Local Content in Procurement (Recommendation 1):
    • Support local innovation by breaking down tenders into smaller parts, enabling small businesses to participate.
    • This approach would directly benefit local manufacturers and support small businesses to scale up, increasing job opportunities and economic growth.
  2. Mandate Modern Slavery Clauses (Recommendation 3):
    • Include modern slavery clauses in all procurement contracts to ensure ethical supply chain practices.
    • This recommendation aligns with ethical business practices and promotes fair labour standards, helping to protect workers in high-risk industries.
  3. Establish a Jobs First Commission (Recommendation 9):
    • Implement measures to monitor and enforce local content requirements, ensuring systematic compliance checks.
    • A dedicated body like the Jobs First Commission will drive accountability in supporting local industries and increasing employment opportunities.
  4. Support for Aboriginal and Diverse Enterprises (Recommendation 14):
    • Provide training, support, and skill development for Aboriginal businesses to help them succeed in government procurement.
    • Increasing diversity in the supply chain not only supports job creation but also fosters social inclusion and economic development within disadvantaged communities.
  5. Incentivise Sustainability and Circular Economy Practices (Recommendation 18):
    • Introduce requirements for government tenders to focus on product stewardship and the circular economy.
    • Emphasising sustainability in procurement encourages innovation and positions NSW as a leader in environmentally responsible manufacturing.

By adopting these strategies, the future of Australian manufacturing can be brighter than ever, providing a more resilient and competitive landscape for businesses and communities across the country.

Read the report in full here

 

AFC MEMBER BRAND & MANUFACTURERS FORUM

AFC Members are invited to this session, where we will unpack the Victorian TCF manufacturing report findings and recommendations, and workshop industry priorities. This forum will be an opportunity for brands and manufacturers to collaborate, voice challenges and plan next steps for our manufacturing industry to be better supported, evolve and thrive.

WHEN: Wednesday, 23 October, 2024
TIME: 11.00am - 1.00pm
LOCATION: Epiphany Room, GPT Space&Co, 376-390 Collins Street, Melbourne
AFC Members can RSVP HERE

Dr Sarah Kaine hosts AFC members for an address by Minister Houssos on Local Manufacturing at Parliament House

Dr Sarah Kaine MLC hosted AFC members at Parliament House with an address by the Hon. Minister Houssos MLC, Minister for Finance, Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, and Minister for Natural Resources.

Dr Sarah Kaine MLC hosted AFC members for a Ministerial address on TCF local manufacturing and government procurement. We would like to thank Dr Sarah Kaine MLC and also the Hon. Minister Houssos MLC, Minister for Finance, Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, and Minister for Natural Resources, for listening to our industry opportunities and challenges. 

An engaging roundtable including AFC Members Eric Phu (Citizen Wolf), Jacquie Macdougall (The Social Outfit), Jackie Galleghan (Madre Natura), Alison Lennard (Philosophy Australia) and Simon Stewart (Stewart & Heaton Clothing), discussed with Hon. Minister Houssos MLC their key concerns and recommendations that can help us here in NSW and broadly nationally. 

The discussions called for:

Craig Heckenberg, Managing Director of Epson, also shared a few words on their support of the AFC and their shared goal of a local, sustainable and thriving TCF industry that harnesses the power of technology and advanced on-demand manufacturing. We also shared the key findings of the Victorian Local Manufacturing report the Australian Fashion Council launched last month in partnership with Epson Australia, and discussed its implications for NSW.

READ THE REPORT HERE

We’d like to thank all our AFC members for their support: Philosophy Australia, Madre Natura, Citizen Wolf, The Social Outfit, Bianca Spender, Carla Zampatti, Lee Mathews, The Iconic, State of Escape, Eder by Anna, Matteau, THEODORE, Brigid Mclaughlin and Carl Kapp. 

We’d also like to thank our AFC Partners: Epson, TAFE NSW, Afterpay, Marque Lawyers, Imageworks Consulting, UTS and The Growth Activists.

Our industry is determined to thrive. Let's talk about the benefits of local manufacturing, not the costs. Let's talk about jobs, skills, the social benefits of sustaining a female-powered workforce, and the environmental benefits of sustainable and ethical production. Together, implementation of these recommendations is not just practical but symbolic. They send a message across our country —one that resonates with consumers, the industry, and brands alike: Choose Australian. 

We look forward to updating you on the next steps of the NSW Manufacturing Strategy. 

AFC submission to the ABS review of the ANZSCO codes

The AFC has made a submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian & New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) recommending immediate funding to undertake a nationwide review of current, emerging and future TCF manufacturing occupations and match occupations to the ABS ANZSCO codes. 

Our recent report, Victorian TCF Manufacturing: Future Jobs, Technology, and Economic Benefits, highlighted the pressing need to address outdated industry codes. The report revealed the TCF industry value and employment numbers are underestimated and facing severe skills shortages nationally, partly due to historical ABS ANZSCO and ANZSIC codes. Despite this, our report also identified a resilient industry with a strong demand for skilled TCF technicians that is not being met.

The ABS ANZSCO codes inform priority lists for skilled migration, training programs and pathways and ensure accurate quantification of employment numbers in the TCF sector. Since the ABS ANZSCO and ANZSIC codes were first released in 2006, there have been significant changes in the TCF manufacturing industry. 

The AFC recommends immediate funding to undertake a nationwide review to identify current, emerging and future TCF manufacturing occupations and match occupations to the ABS ANZSCO list. This would include consultation with industry to capture specific occupation tasks as well as unique TCF specialisation fields. This is critical to ensure training programs work together with industry classifications to support and showcase the breadth of TCF manufacturing jobs to students.

 

Recommendations

  1. TCF occupations are not retired or merged with broader occupation codes.
  2. The following occupations are added to the ABS ANZSCO and ongoing consultation undertaken with the TCF industry to better understand the tasks and specialisations for each occupation  (Garment Technician, Digital Textile and Clothing Printer, Textile Technician (including specialisation: Digital Textile Technician), Textile Designer, Product Developer. 
  3. Specialisations are added to existing occupations in: Production Manager (Manufacturing) - Add Clothing and Textile Production Manager, Clothing Patternmaker - Add Digital Clothing Pattern Maker, Knitting Machine Operator - Add Circular Knitting Technician.
  4. The AFC recommends immediate funding of the AFC to conduct a nationwide study to quantify the TCF manufacturing industry, identify current and future skills gaps and map career pathways to ensure economic security for the female dominated workforce. 

Implementation of the four recommendations will ensure skilled migration pathways and training programs that meet industry skills gaps. If unaddressed, the skills shortages impacting the industry nationally risk being lost and restricting the potential growth of the sector. 

 

Feedback from AFC members identifying skills shortages

“Garment technicians and pattern makers are very different roles with different levels of skills. This would be the same as calling an architect a builder, both very important roles, very different stages. I think this may be happening because of the off-shoring that has happened. A garment technician can work on tech packs but not clothing patterns, they are two very different skill sets.” - RB Patterns on merging Clothing Pattern Maker into Garment Technician job code

 

“Sewing skills is definitely an issue. The big challenge that we see is that it's a skillset that's part of an ageing workforce, and there aren't enough younger people starting in the industry who are learning the basic manufacturing skills and see that as a viable career path, as opposed to the more "fun" and creative side of being a designer.” - Citizen Wolf on the sewing machinists shortage.

 

“The roles we are hiring for today are different to a decade ago. Another gap is the manufacturing skills we lost 30 years ago when production moved offshore — it’s critical that the government invests in the skills and infrastructure to address the skills shortage in Australia with machinists and technicians and enable more local manufacturing, whether that be robotic or through skilled workers. This would help enable Country Road to fulfil the customer demand for Australian-made clothing.” - Country Road on losing critical skills to enable local manufacturing.

 

Next Steps

To ensure a prosperous future for the TCF manufacturing industry, it's crucial to adapt these codes to reflect the evolving landscape of the TCF sector. The AFC will continue to advocate with the ABS to ensure industry classifications better reflect today’s TCF industry, ensuring a robust and skilled workforce that can drive the industry’s growth and resilience.

AFC launches Victorian TCF Manufacturing: Future Jobs, Technology and Economic Growth Report

We’re excited to announce that the AFC have launched the Victorian TCF Manufacturing Report: Future Jobs, Technology and Economic Growth. In partnership with Epson Australia, we have commissioned RMIT to, for the first-time, to quantify the current and future value of the Victorian TCF manufacturing sector.

The Report identifies five key areas to drive productivity, innovation and higher wage growth. Recommendations include: 

The current state of the Victorian TCF manufacturing industry presents a resilient sector in decline. To prevent further decline, “It’s imperative to the future of Victoria’s, and more-broadly Australia’s, textiles, clothing and footwear manufacturing industry that we collectively invest in and preference local. This sector is ours to lose. By implementing these very practical and achievable recommendations we can revive the industry, retain sovereign capability in Australia in TCF manufacturing and empower Australian brands to start, remain or even return on-shore,” Australian Fashion Council CEO, Jaana Quaintance-James said.

The Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP, Minister for Jobs & Industry, Women, and First Nations & Treaty, attended in support, stating that, “Transitioning to advanced manufacturing by adopting new technologies and upskilling will make our industries more efficient and resilient and better to meet market demands”

The report also highlights cost efficiencies and reduced waste that can be achieved should a smart-factory model be rolled out. Smart-factories utilise advanced technologies including digital sampling, digital printing and laser cutting to reduce waste and production lead times. At the launch of the report, a coat was made utilising this concept, made in collaboration with Ngali, RB Patterns, Epson and Select Textiles, and gifted to the Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP. 

 

 

 

 

 

Together, implementation of these recommendations is not just practical but symbolic. They send a message across our country —one that resonates with consumers, the industry, and brands alike: choose Australian.

Read the report HERE.