Research Question:
How can fashion graduates gain transferable skills and improve individual competency?
1.Introduction
Fashion industry is a highly competitive and dynamic field that demands constant innovation, creativity, and adaptability. For fashion graduates, possessing technical skills related to design, production, and marketing is crucial for securing entry-level positions in the industry (Lu et al., 2020). However, beyond technical proficiency, there is an increasing demand for transferable skills that enable graduates to navigate different roles, industries, and contexts (Lopez-Cabrales et al., 2020). In this project, we aim to explore how fashion graduates can gain transferable skills and improve their individual competency to enhance their employability and career prospects.
Transferable skills refer to the general competencies that can be applied across different settings, industries, and roles, such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, time management, and adaptability (Díaz-García et al., 2021). These skills allow individuals to transfer their skills and knowledge to new situations, learn quickly, and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, enhancing their employability, competitiveness, and career mobility (Mumford & Gold, 2019). Fashion graduates who possess transferable skills have several advantages over their peers.
In the fashion industry, transferable skills are becoming increasingly valuable due to the industry’s globalized and multidisciplinary nature, requiring professionals to work with different cultures, languages, and technologies (Barbero-Álvarez et al., 2020). This is especially for graduates who lack industry-specific experience (Díaz-García et al., 2004). They can adapt quickly to changing industry trends, technological advancements, and consumer preferences, enhancing their employability and competitiveness (Liu & Ko, 2021). Transferable skills, such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and adaptability, allow fashion graduates to demonstrate their ability to learn and apply knowledge to new situations, collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, and add value to their organizations (Lopez-Cabrales et al., 2020). For example, a fashion graduates who master intercultural competence would be crucial in a globalized and fast-paced company. They can work effectively with clients and stakeholders from different cultural backgrounds, leading to better business outcomes (Lu et al., 2020).
Moreover, transferable skills can enable graduates to explore multiple career paths within and outside the fashion industry, adapt to changing labor market demands, and pursue lifelong learning and professional development (Nasiopoulos et al., 2020). On one hand, fashion graduates who possess transferable skills can continue to develop their skills and knowledge throughout their careers, increasing their job satisfaction and competitiveness in the labor market (Nasiopoulos et al., 2020). For instance, creativity and innovation skills can enable fashion graduates to think outside the box and develop new and innovative products and services that meet customer needs and preferences (Gornostaeva et al., 2019), and leadership and management skills can also allow fashion graduates to take on managerial roles, leading and motivating teams to achieve organizational goals (Nasiopoulos et al., 2020). On another hand, transferable skills can be especially valuable for graduates who may not be able to find employment in their desired field or who want to explore different career options within the industry. Transferable skills allow individuals to transfer their abilities and knowledge from one job or industry to another, making it easier to adapt to changing labor market demands (Liu & Ko, 2021).
In addition, transferable skills can help fashion graduates to develop a strong personal brand, which is essential in a highly competitive industry and creative industry, such as fashion industry (Barnes & Lea-Greenwood, 2010). In the fashion industry, competition for entry-level jobs can be intense, and graduates need to find ways to differentiate themselves from other candidates (Easter & Matthews, 2020). A strong personal brand can help graduates to showcase their unique skills, experience, and personality, and make a lasting impression on potential employers (Barnes & Lea-Greenwood, 2010). Additionally, reputation is everything in the fashion industry, and a positive reputation can open doors to new opportunities and collaborations (Choi et al., 2018). By building a personal brand that is consistent and authentic, graduates can establish themselves as experts in their field, gain respect from industry peers, and increase their chances of being noticed by key influencers and decision-makers (Keller & Lehmann, 2006). Meanwhile, from the long-term perspective, building a personal brand that is engaging and compelling enable graduate to attract the attention of industry professionals, build relationships with other creatives, and develop a network of contacts that can support their career over the long-term (Barnes & Lea-Greenwood, 2010).
Despite the benefits of transferable skills, acquiring them is not always straightforward. Fashion graduates may face several challenges in gaining transferable skills, such as the lack of opportunities to practice, the absence of guidance and mentorship, and the difficulty in identifying and articulating their transferable skills to employers (Jiang, 2020). Moreover, there is limited research and literature on how fashion graduates can acquire and develop transferable skills, particularly in the context of the fashion industry (Lu et al., 2020).
Therefore, this project aims to investigate how fashion graduates can gain transferable skills and enhance their individual competency to improve their employability and career prospects. The project questions is “how do fashion graduates effectively reap transferable skills?” and “how these learned transferable skills help them future job seeking?”.
This study is going to develop and implement two interventions that provide fashion graduates with opportunities to acquire and practice transferable skills in the fashion industry context, and one intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of the former two interventions in enhancing the graduates’ transferable skills and individual competency.