With the announcement that this year’s Fashion Awards will raise funds for the British Fashion Council (BFC) Education Foundation which attracts and supports future talent, the BFC outlines plans for the coming year. Dame Natalie Massenet has pledged that over the next ten years the aim is to raise £10million to invest in and attract the young talent studying in London. The British Fashion Council announces the Fashion Apprenticeship Standard. The BFC is supporting a group of fashion employers to develop the fashion studio assistant apprenticeship, alongside the University of the Arts London, who will be the awarding body that create the qualification. The apprenticeship will deliver specific skills that will ultimately contribute to all levels of a fashion business, developing teams to work alongside our design talent. The fashion apprenticeship will be launched in October this year and encompass a six month foundation core which will then lead into 12 months focused on one area of the business; production development, sales and logistics or fashion marketing and communications with the aim to make Britain the best place to start, develop and grow creative, innovative businesses. The British Fashion Council has also announced the launch of a new National Fashion & Business Saturday Club, a national initiative launched by the British Fashion Council and the Sorrell Foundation, aimed at giving young people, aged 14-16, the opportunity to study fashion at their local college or university for free. Additionally, the British Fashion Council introduces an Exceptional Talent Scholarship, an emergency fund for talent needing financial support. The BFC Education Foundation aims to attract talented young people into the industry and the success of the programme is evident by the final year BA students selected in 2015, who all graduated with First Class degrees.

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