However, there are obviously many people out there who have seen an opportunity to make a bit of money printing T-shirts, perhaps just for their local football team, and who, before they know it, are ‘in business’.

But what do they really know about business management and how do they cope when their company starts to grow? What they might not realise is that help is out there in many forms – one of which is Skillfast-UK, the sector skills council for apparel, footwear, textiles and related businesses. According to Skillfast-UK, around half of the 1,200 printwear companies in the UK employ five people or less. It has devised a website (www.solutions4business.net) to help these ‘micro’ businesses develop and to assist managing directors in improving their businesses management skills.

But the sector skills council is not just there for small businesses. Its aim is to get a better deal for employers’ investments in skills and training – i.e. to help them recruit people with the right skills for the job. To do this it needs input from the employers, so over the next few months we will be bringing you information on the work being done that is relevant to the printwear industry and looking at ways employers can get involved. One of the areas is in the development of new Diplomas in Manufacturing and in Retail. It needs employers from our industry to come forward and help it to decide on the syllabus. Go to www.skillfast-uk.org/employers then click on the link for Specialised Diploma in Retail for more information.

While we’re on the subject of organisations giving companies a ‘helping hand’, this month sees the establishment of a new online forum to do just that – the British Garment Decorators Federation (BGDF). The BGDF seeks to help garment decorators build better businesses and to boost standards across the industry (see news, p4). But again, the forum won’t work without the support of the industry, so log on to www.bgdf.co.uk to see how you can get involved.

Before I go… Those of you reading this month’s magazine will no doubt have noticed quite a few major changes: a return to A4, improved paper quality and a re-designed front cover – all of which have been made with our readers and advertisers’ needs in mind. I hope you’ll agree they are changes for the better, and, as always, we welcome your feedback on them.

I am also delighted to report that following extensive work on our readership database, Printwear & Promotion now has a 100% requested distribution of 5,550 for each issue. Put simply, this means that 5,550 individuals have specifically requested our magazine, making it their book of choice. To keep up with this demand, from July 2007 the circulation will be increased to 6,000. That’s all for now – enjoy the new look!

Rebecca Green

rgreen@datateam.co.uk

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