ENTREPRENEURSHIP POTENTIALS IN CLOTHING AND TEXTILES

Closing and textile education is expected to provide students with requisite skills and techniques necessary to make them self reliant and employable in the labour market after gradation. The entrepreneurship potentials in clothing and textiles are:

1.      Dry cleaning and laundering: Dry cleaning and laundering is one of job opportunities in which graduates of clothing and textiles can engage themselves. Anyakwha (2007) outline the work of Dry-cleaners and launders to include: to dry clean launder.

Clothes for people and to engage in the production and selling of cassava starch and home chemical for stain removal. Therefore graduates of clothing and textiles can involve themselves in dry cleaning and laundering for economics empowerment.

2.      Dress making/clothes construction: Okeke and Anyakwha (2004) defined dress making/cloths construction as the act of designing, cutting, arranging and sewing different component of dresses the skills in dressmaking/constructions are usually acquired in primary and secondary schools through needle work, clothing construction classes and fashion designing classes in schools. The skills in dress making/construction can be achieved outside the school programme through apprenticeship. Lernctu (2002) pointed out that the most common means of acquiring skills is through apprenticeship.

3.      Beauty care and hair dressing. Hair dressing and beauty care is another business venture available in clothing and textile education, beauty care and hair dress professionals open and run salons where they take care of people’s hair and perform other beauty treatment to earn a living.

4.      Fashion merchandising and modeling: modeling is a business in which graduates or students of clothing and textile wears newly designed dress styles for people to see (through cat walking in fashion exlubition shows) and buy. The models, are paid for the service they provide. Fashion merchandising is another area of entrepreneurship opportunity for students of clothing and textiles. Lerndiu (2002) states that merchandising involves a situation where students/ graduates select, buy and sell textile appealers and others clothing accessories in other to earn a living such cloth accessories range from Nigeria wax wrappers, chieftaincy  wears causal wears, suit, jewelries, shoes and bages, and other accessories.

5.      Pattern illustration: This is one area where designers are mostly need. Pattern making involves the making of patterns for males and females, children and adults alike for sale to earn money (Anyakoha, 2007)

6.      Knitting and crocheting shop: clothing and textile education provides students with the skills to engage in knitting and crocheting to earn a living. It provides students with the skills to knit cardigan for both adults and children.

7.      Other employment/entrepreneurship opportunities in clothing and textiles are designing, tie-dying and befikaing.