The role of and design graduate employment research in informing curriculum development and review

The curriculum review and development of the Textile Design degree at the University of Huddersfield is informed by changes in the UK and international textile industry, particularly in relation to the increase in overseas sourcing and use of IT. These factors will affect
the nature of present and future graduate employment and job opportunities. The skills that students acquire while on a degree course must reflect those required by a potential employer.

Although single-year ‘snap shots’ are taken of graduate employment, it is important to take a long term view of how higher education should bridge the skills gap between university and the work place. This paper is based on a longitudinal study into textile design graduate employment, involving over 600 graduates and their
employers over a ten-year period and addresses issues related to curriculum development raised by this research.