GLOBALLY, fashion design has been getting increased attention as an extremely viable skill in recent years, especially in light of the growing decline in mass produced garments from a certain Asian country.

The trend hasn’t escaped Jamaica’s education officer with responsibility for home economics education in regions five and six, Maxine Hills, who — despite the dramatic decline in the number of students pursuing clothing and textiles beyond the first three years in high school — has busied herself promoting the subject.

“Over the past two years, home economics, and particularly clothing and textiles, has experienced a noticeable decline in the number of students who are interested in sitting [the exit exams] at the secondary level,” Hills told the Jamaica Observer.

She didn’t provide numbers, nor did she have conclusive theories to explain the cause of the decline, but Hills said the downward trend was cause for concern because it suggests that there will be fewer workers available to meet the future demands of the labour market.

That’s what led her to collaborate with HEART Trust/NTA to stage the recent WorldSkills fashion technology competition for secondary schools in regions five and six.

“I was excited when I saw some students at a recent international WorldSkills competition that featured a fashion technology show, and I saw 14 and 15 year olds who produced exceptional pieces and I thought the introduction of this competition would be the ideal event to redirect students to the area [clothing and textiles]. It turns out this may very well work considering the positive feedback that we have got so far,” said Hills.

The home economist asserted that while only 10 schools participated, the exercise would have a ripple effect among the peers of the students who were exposed to world-class industrial machinery and a wealth of knowledge outside of the regular classroom setting.

“Even if it was six students, I would have still been pleased because it is a start and I know that students would expand on their existing knowledge of the area. It is my hope that this competition will be an annual event and it will be extended to the other four regions. That means we may need to have regional competitions from which we could crown a national champion,” she said.

Hills added that a part of her vision is to introduce a national clothing and textile quiz competition in an effort to inject excitement and renew the passion that students once showed for the subject area. She also wants teachers to make the subject more engaging, and pointed out that the Ministry of Education currently exposes them to best practices to that end.

There are also plans, at the regional level, to raise the profile of the subject by introducing fashion design as part of the new Caribbean Vocational Qualifications that are being introduced into the secondary school system through the Caribbean Examinations Council.