Clothing and Textiles Research Journal

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Fashion Industry Career Matrix: Encouraging Students to Explore Fashion-Related

Careers
Barbara J. Frazier and Wanda K. Cheek
Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 2005; 23; 375
DOI: 10.1177/0887302X0502300417

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Fashion Industry Career Matrix: Encouraging
Students to Explore Fashion-Related Careers
Barbara J. Frazier, Wanda K. Cheek

Key Words
Active Learning, College Students, Fashion Careers

Abstract
This paper describes an innovative career exploration project that uses collaborative learning methods
and technology to increase design and merchandising students’ understanding of career options and
progression in fashion industries. The authors describe activities used to engage students in creating
a career matrix (Zinser, 2001), a visual tool that uses a spreadsheet style format to display functions
in a typical organization horizontally and the education, experience, and salary range at each level
vertically. The activity, which has been assigned at two universities, requires student teams to conduct
research about careers in the fashion industry using the primary, secondary, retail, and auxiliary in-
dustry sectors model. Students display their findings in a career matrix adapted by the authors for the
fashion industry. Participants are engaged in active learning as they develop and improve their infor-
mation literacy skills through information processing, critical thinking, problem solving, and research.
Students report increased awareness of the breadth of careers in the industry and an appreciation of
the education and experience required for success and career progression.

D
eveloping self-efficacy in career decisions
requires college students to have informa-
tion about the career options available in
their field of study. Students entering a merchandis-
ing or design major in a college or university may do
so with little exposure to career opportunities in the
fashion industry. They may associate careers in the
fashion industry with high-profile designers or retail
buyers and not be aware of the many other career
opportunities in the field (Cantore, 2000). Beyond
basic job information, students need to know what
is required in terms of education and experience to
obtain a position and be successful in these careers.
This paper describes an innovative career explora-
tion project that uses collaborative learning meth-
ods to increase design and merchandising students’
understanding of career options in the textile and
apparel industries. Student teams use the Internet
and other course materials to research career op-
tions in the fashion industry and identify the expe-
rience, education, and skill levels required to enter
and become successful in the field. Teams then
organize the results of their research in a spread-
sheet style format which displays job functions in
a typical fashion organization horizontally (e.g.,
buying/merchandising, retail management) and the
education, experience, and salary range at each level
vertically. The project is designed for students en-
rolled in introductory courses in apparel and textile
programs (e.g., Introduction to Fashion Merchan-
dising, Introduction to the Fashion Industry).

Career Development Framework

Author’s Addresses: Barbara J. Frazier, Department of Family
and Consumer Sciences, Western Michigan University, 1903
West Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5322 and Wanda K. The career progression literature suggests that the
Cheek, Mississippi State University. opportunity to explore careers early in the educa-

©2005 International Textile & Apparel Association Volume 23 #4 2005 375

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 tional process enables individuals to examine their
strengths and weaknesses with respect to various
job choices and to develop a realistic self-concept
and identity (Conley, 2002; Erikson, 1980). Career
development studies note that, in general, entering
college students are quite naïve about entry level
salaries and the experience required for certain
jobs (Cantore, 2000). Although perceptions are
usually more realistic when a person graduates,
the earlier students obtain career information, the
better choices they will make (Heckert & Wal-
lis, 1998). Studies have demonstrated that career
self-efficacy is enhanced when students have career
information, and students are more likely to take
more challenging courses and make more definite
career plans when they have career information
(Conroy, 1997; International Technology Educa-
tion Association, 1993). Failing to consider a broad
range of career paths may lead to foreclosing one’s
choice of career early in life and to lack of apprecia-
tion for the choices made (Erikson, 1980).
Learning Approach
The project described in this paper uses an active
learning approach to teach students about career
opportunities in the fashion industry. Active learn-
ing strategies, which place students in the center
of the learning process, are increasingly used to
enhance student learning in the college classroom
(Warren, 1997). Whereas traditional methods of
teaching take the view that information is owned
by the instructor, active learning methods engage
students in the learning through critical problem
solving and active application of information. Tra-
ditional teaching philosophies place most of the re-
sponsibility on the teacher, with students perceived
as passive receptacles of knowledge. Conversely,
active learning methods require students to prepare
for learning outside of the classroom, participate in
classroom discussion, listen to other class mem-
bers’ ideas, and accept a level of ambiguity (War-
ren, 1997). Benefits of active learning include better
content and critical-thinking abilities, improved
time management, interpersonal and communica-
tion skills, and higher levels of student motivation
(Boulmetis, 2000; Salemi, 2002).
376 Clothing Textiles
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Faculty in university textiles and clothing courses
use a variety of active learning strategies to reach
their students. A review of innovative teaching pre-
sentation abstracts at the annual meeting of Inter-
national Textile and Apparel Association in the last
three years reveals that about one fourth (23 of 87)
of the presentations that focused on teaching in-
novations involved collaborative learning. Collab-
orative learning is an active learning method that
refers to an instructional format in which students
at various performance levels work together in
small groups toward a common goal. The students
are responsible for one another’s learning as well
as their own. Proponents of collaborative learn-
ing claim that the active exchange of ideas within
small groups not only increases interest among
the participants but also promotes critical think-
ing. There is persuasive evidence that cooperative
teams achieve at higher levels of thought and retain
information longer than students who work quietly
as individuals (Johnson & Johnson, 1986). Shared
learning gives students an opportunity to engage in
discussion, take responsibility for their own learn-
ing, and thus become critical thinkers (Totten, Sills,
Digby, & Russ, 1991).
The use of technology to research, analyze, and
synthesize a problem is a valuable tool in ac-
tive learning. University faculty are challenged
to provide opportunities for students to become
“information literate” (Association of College and
Research Libraries, 2000) whereby they locate and
evaluate proliferating information sources and use
technology as a tool to solve problems and think
critically. According to the Boyer Commission on
Educating Undergraduates in the Research Univer-
sity (1998) report, “The best teachers and research-
ers should be thinking about how to design courses
in which technology enriches teaching rather than
substitutes for it” (p. 26). Learning to use the Inter-
net in the context of searching for career informa-
tion is especially useful to college students, as they
are likely to conduct job searches using the Internet
upon graduation. Skills in presenting information
using word processing programs and organizing
information using spreadsheet software are also
valuable skills for students interested in careers in
business or research.
©2005 International Textile & Apparel Association
This technology-based project is designed to be
completed by small groups of students work-
ing together to create a comprehensive display
illustrating career opportunities in the textile and
apparel industries. Small groups are effective
because they increase student-to-student interac-
tion, shift the responsibility of learning from the
instructor to the student, and stress problem-
solving skills that enhance student cognition.
The positive outcomes of collaborative learning
include positive interdependence, individual
accountability, and interpersonal and communi-
cation skills (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1998).
Small group learning allows students to relate
course material into their existing knowledge
base, thus producing a deeper, contextualized
level of understanding of content (Kurfiss, 1988).
When peers work together, modeling, cognitive
disequilibrium, feedback, and perspective-taking
emerge as students explain and receive explana-
tions from their colleagues. Student-centered
learning environments result in richer, deeper,
more comprehensive, and more complex thinking
(Cuseo, 2002).
Project Description
The Fashion Industry Career Matrix (FICM)
The FICM project described in this paper was
inspired by a tool that was developed and used in
the career and technical education field to increase
high school students’ awareness of opportunities in
the manufacturing field. Zinser (2001) originally
developed the career matrix using a career progres-
sion model for the plastics industry. The matrix is
based on information he gathered from profession-
als in the plastics industry. Career opportunities
are arrayed according to functional segments and
various levels of responsibility in each segment in a
spreadsheet format (see Figure 1). Columns of the
spreadsheet are labeled with functions (e.g., pro-
duction, skilled trades), while the rows represent
different levels of responsibility in each functional
area and are labeled with education, experience,
skill requirements, and salary range for each level.
The display is arranged in descending order with a
summary of senior level career opportunities at the
top to entry level positions at the bottom.

Salary, Education, Quality

Experience Production Skilled Trades Engineering Assurance Sales/Marketing

$80K - $100K Vice president Vice president Vice president

4-6 years college/equiv. Director Director Director
20-25 years experience Business mgr

$60K - $85K Plant manager Tooling mgr. Program mgr. Director Director
4-6 years college/equiv. Director Tooling mgr. Manager Sales/mktg. mgr.
10-25 years experience Operations mgr. Account mgr.

$40K - $60K Dept. mgr. Maintenance mgr. Dept. supervisor Quality engr. II Outside sales
4 yrs college/equiv. Superintendent Toolmaker II Design engr.
10-15 years experience Facility eng. Tooling engr.

$28K - $43K Shift supervisor Toolmaker I Project engr. Quality engr. I Inside sales
1-4 years college/equiv. Group leader Millwright Designer Senior tech. Coordinators
8-12 years experience Sample tech. Electrician Process engr. II Supervisor

$21K - $36K Process tech. Drafter Process engr. I CMM operator Customer service
1-2 years college/equiv. Mold setter Machinist II Estimator Lab tech. Market analyst
3-5 years experience Utility worker Drafter Layout tech.

Figure 1. Portion of original career matrix developed by Zinser (2001) based on the plastics industry.

©2005 International Textile & Apparel Association Volume 23 #4 2005 377

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 Table 1. Industry Sector Schema Presented In Selected Introductory Textbooks.

Text Schema of functional areas presented

Burns & Bryant (2002). The Business of Fashion Manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing

Frings, (1999). Fashion: From Concept to Consumer Raw materials, manufacturing, retailing

Jarnow & Dickerson (6th ed). Inside the Fashion Business Production-distribution chain: component suppliers, finished
product suppliers, retail distributors, auxiliary enterprises.

Stone (1999). Dynamics of Fashion Primary, secondary, retail, auxiliary

Rath, Peterson, Greensley, & Gill (1994). Introduction to Primary, secondary, retail, auxiliary
Fashion Merchandising

Table 2. Fashion Industry Sectors and Functions Table 1 contains selected textbooks that are orga-
nized around the sectors model and can be used
Sector Functions with the FICM. The project has undergone several
revisions by instructors from both universities and
Primary Fiber/textile development
Design currently requires four matrices, one for each sec-
Dye/print/finish conversion tor (primary, secondary, retail, and auxiliary) of the
Secondary Design
fashion industry. See Table 2.
Production/manufacturing
Sales/marketing Project Requirements
Retail Buying/merchandising
Management The goal of the project is for teams of students in an
Sales promotion/fashion direction introductory textiles and apparel course to create a
Auxiliary Advertising/publicity career matrix for the fashion industry using tech-
Buying offices nology and critical thinking skills. In the course of
Fashion publications the semester, each team creates four spreadsheets,
Trade associations one for each of the sectors of the “fashion pipeline”
(Rath, Peterson, Greensley & Gill, 1994, pp. 77, 99).
Columns are labeled with functional segments of
The first author initially adapted Zinser’s career the primary, secondary, retail, and auxiliary textile
matrix concept and developed the FICM project and apparel sectors, while rows represent differ-
for an entry level course in an textiles and ap- ent levels of responsibility (job titles) within each
parel program. Unlike Zinser who developed the functional area (see Figure 2). Teams must provide
matrix for high school students to read and discuss documentation of the resources used to create the
(passive learning), the first author determined that matrices. Once completed, the project provides a
college students could conduct the research using comprehensive view of career possibilities and a
technology and actually develop the matrix, there- basis for discussion about career planning before
by shifting the focus to active, student-oriented and beyond graduation.
learning. The second author replicated the project
at another university. The project is organized The project was developed using Davis’ (1993)
around the primary, secondary, retail, and auxiliary strategies for successful collaborative learning
industry sectors model found in various textbooks activities. Davis suggests that group work is more
used in introductory textiles and apparel courses. successful when objectives are clearly stated and

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 Fashion Industry Career Matrix
RETAIL SECTOR

Functions Buying/Merchandising Management Sales promotion/

go across ⇒ Fashion direction

Row labels will These cells will contain one or more job
contain salary, titles, arranged in appropriate
education, skill columns and rows from entry level at the bottom, to senior level
and experience at the top of the spreadsheet. Some cells may be empty.
required for each
level. The number
of levels is
determined by
your search (4
minimum).

Figure 2. Format showing functional areas for the retail sector.

key concepts are defined. A written description
which explains the objectives and detailed require-
ments of the project, guidance on group participa-
tion expectations, and a description of how the
project will be evaluated is distributed early in the
semester,1 after the instructor has presented a fash-
ion pipeline schematic showing the four sectors of
the clothing/textile industry (see Rath et al., 1994,
pp. 77, 99). The plastics industry matrix described
earlier is made available to students in the project
description as a prototype for the fashion industry
career matrix. The instructor also provides advice
on Internet searching, including several job search
Web sites in the project description to get groups
started on the project. The authors suggest that
the instructor present a brief explanation of career
progression concepts prior to introducing the
1
Project description is available from the first author on request.
2
Profile is available from the first author.
project. The current editions of the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
(2003) and Vault Career Guide to the Fashion In-
dustry (Han, 2003) may be useful in supplementing
textbook information about career opportunities in
the fashion industry.
Davis (1993) suggests that four to five students per
group is ideal. A group of more than five students
reduces learning opportunities for individual
students, while a group of three or fewer students
may find tasks difficult to complete (Cooper, 1990;
Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991). There are vari-
ous approaches to assigning students to groups
(e.g. self-selection, instructor selection). Instructors
assign teams taking into account students’ prior
achievements, current skills, work habits, ethnicity,
and gender. To accomplish this, students are asked
to complete personal profiles2 early in the semester.
Information from the profile is used by the instruc-
tor to form well-balanced groups.

©2005 International Textile & Apparel Association Volume 23 #4 2005 379

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 It is also important for the instructor to provide
guidance and mechanisms for group management,
including dealing with uncooperative members
(Davis, 1993). One way to accomplish this is to
have groups develop a contract that outlines group
expectations. The authors also advise having
groups prepare a plan of action at various stages of
the project and holding instructor/group meetings
at regular intervals. Because some students have
never worked in collaborative learning groups, they
may need practice in such skills as active listen-
ing, giving and receiving constructive criticism,
and managing disagreements. These skills should
be discussed with students during the course of the
semester (Fiechtner & Davis, 1992).
Student teams begin the project by completing a
matrix for the primary sector. Groups work to
complete a matrix for each sector as topics rel-
evant to the sector are addressed in class readings,
lectures and discussions. Students use information
from course materials, lectures, classified adver-
tisements in trade periodicals, extensive Internet
research, guest speakers, and interviews with
industry professionals to identify job postings and
locate career information. As the teams locate job
information, they are sorted and assigned to one
of the sectors. Students are then required to think
critically to assign each job listing according to
the function (columns) and then according to the
level of responsibility (rows). Within the level of
responsibility, teams place entry level jobs in the
bottom rows of the matrix in the appropriate func-
tion column, while highest level jobs are placed in
the top rows. The final result is a spreadsheet for
each of the four sectors displaying the required
information. Teams organize and report on all of
the resources used to create the matrix.
The final result is a matrix which resembles a
“career ladder” for each functional area, with all
functional areas within a sector displayed on the

Sales, Education and Experience Buying/Merchandising Management

Salary $80k-$140k Vice president-merchandising Senior vice president of stores

4+ years college
15+ years experience

Salary $70k-$120k General merchandise manager Regional vice president of stores

4+ years college
10+ years experience

Salary $60-$100k Divisional merchandise manager District supervisor

4 years college
6+ years experience

Salary $40k-$80k Senior buyer Store manager

4 years college
2-3 years experience

Salary $27k-$40k Merchandise analyst Assistant store manager

2-4 years college
1-2 years experience

Salary $24k-$36k Assistant buyer Department manager

2-4 years college
1-2 years experience

Figure 3. Example of job level display within the buying/merchandising and management functions in the
retail sector.

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same spreadsheet. For example, if students were
working on the matrix for the retail sector (see
Figure 3), team research may have identified six job
levels in the buying/merchandising function, which
would be placed in ascending order with assistant
buyer as the entry level job, and vice president of
merchandising as the senior level. (More than one
job title may appear in a cell.) Within the retail
sector, the team would also locate entry to senior
level jobs in the management function, and arrange
them in the row that most closely aligns with the
same salary, education, and experience levels as in
the buying/merchandising column. To complete the
retail sector matrix, teams would locate and arrange
job information for the sales promotion/fashion
direction functional area. The result may look simi-
lar to the example in Figure 3, which shows that an
assistant buyer in the buying/merchandising func-
tion and a department manager in the management
function would be in the same salary range and
require similar levels of education and experience.
In some cases, students may find that some cells
remain empty because there may be fewer job levels
in some functional areas than in others.
Evaluation of Student Learning
Group work is more successful when students are
graded against a set standard than when they are
graded against each other (Smith, 1986). As part
of the project description, students are provided
with a rubric which indicates how the project will
Career Matrix Content (60%)
• All cells contain job titles in appropriate function areas
• Salary, education and experience factors complete for
each level.
• Quality of resources
• Number of resources
Presentation (20%)
• Format, professionalism, and quality of presentation
• Citations in APA format
Colleague Evaluation (20%)
• Averaged team evaluation
Figure 4. Grading criteria for FICM project.
©2005 International Textile & Apparel Association
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be evaluated. Sixty percent of the grade reflects
the content presented and quality and variety
of resources used; 20% reflects the care given to
presentation of materials, and 20% is a colleague
evaluation, using an averaged score (1-10 scale) of
team members’ anonymous ratings of each other’s
contributions to the project (see Figure 4).
Project Outcomes
Desired outcome of the activity is to increase
student awareness of the types of jobs in selected
areas of the fashion industry, the education and
experience requirements for various positions, and
expected career progression within functional areas.
The project provides the opportunity to increase
proficiency in the use of multiple modes of technol-
ogy, thereby enhancing information literacy skills.
Completion of the project also gives students the
opportunity to contribute cooperatively to complete
a complex task, thus improving teamwork and coop-
erative skills. Learning and retention are enhanced
because students are actively involved in learning.
The activity is designed for use in an introductory
survey of the fashion industry course, but could
easily be adapted to fit the specific context of an-
other course. The version presented in this paper
uses the primary, secondary, retail, and auxiliary
model, but functional segments can be adapted by
the instructor to coincide with schema presented in
other introductory texts. Also, all four functional
areas would not need to be explored in the same
course. For instance, the secondary functional area
could be further defined with more categories for
a more in-depth exploration in a product develop-
ment/manufacturing course. Merchandising ca-
reers could be explored using the project in a retail-
ing course. Another benefit of the project is that
the results produced by students will always reflect
the most up-to-date information about careers,
because students are using current industry infor-
mation to create the matrices. The information
presented in textbooks is limited by the fact that
the information presented about careers is usually
several years old and may not reflect current indus-
try practices or provide salary information.
Volume 23 #4 2005 381
 Table 2. Levels Of Knowledge And Skill Requirements Developed Through Project Tasks.

Knowledge level Project tasks Skill requirements

Recall Discover facts and definitions relating to functional areas in the textiles and Information
apparel industry; acquire knowledge of a variety of job titles and employment processing
requirements in the industry.

Comprehension Explain the unique nature of industry sectors in the textiles and apparel channel; Critical thinking
describe various job titles and qualifications to class members.

Application Use technology to research and display findings in an organized manner; develop Higher order
sufficient understanding of industry sectors and career information to be able critical thinking
to organize job descriptions into logical patterns.

Analysis Sort job titles into functional areas and rank order them by level of responsibility. Problem solving

Synthesis Summarize and draw conclusions using career information with respect to industry Research
expectations and minimum requirements.

Adapted from Bloom (1956)

The FICM is an innovative teaching project that Student Response

serves multiple purposes. It engages students
in active learning through research of available
fashion-related sources of information. The tasks
involved in completing the project utilize informa-
tion processing, critical thinking, problem solving,
and research skills, as information is retrieved,
sorted and classified logically in the matrix. In ad-
dition, students apply current technology as a tool
for accomplishing the intended outcome, thereby
enhancing job preparation skills expected in the
industry. Table 2 presents a brief description of the
tasks and the level of knowledge and skills required
to successfully complete each task.
Further, this project serves as an early college expe-
rience for training textiles and apparel students to
work effectively in teams, a skill that many employ-
ers have come to expect. Other benefits are that
this project does not require additional resources
since the required technology is readily available
on most campuses. The project provides opportu-
nities for in-class discussion, and can be enhanced
through the use of guest speakers and field trips.
Finally, the project works in both small and large
classes since it is completed in teams and limited
only to the number of final team projects the fac-
ulty member can reasonably evaluate.
Student reaction to the project has been positive.
Upon completion of the project at the second
institution, 46 students were asked at the end of the
semester to respond to an open-ended question
about three things they learned from the FICM
project. The most frequently written response (17)
was their astonishment at the many career choices
in the fashion industry. Other cited observations
were the realization of the need for prior experi-
ence to be considered for the position (10) and sur-
prise at the salary extremes between the entry level
positions and the higher positions (4). Concerning
learning methods, students cited that they learned
to do group work (9). Because technology skills
were emphasized in the project, 6 students were
pleased that they improved their spreadsheet skills,
and 4 noted that they learned that the Internet can
be used as a tool to search for real positions and
possible internships. Informal comments made to
the instructor indicate that many of the students
really enjoyed completing the project. As a whole,
these responses would seem to indicate that this
active learning project is accomplishing more than
can be expected from just reading about careers in
the textbook. As one student surmised, this project
helped identify the many different levels and types

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of jobs that are required to produce apparel, and
if one level is missing, the function of the fashion
pipeline will be disrupted.
Limitations
There are always limitations to be recognized when
launching projects such as this one. Student evalua-
tions were perception based, and no objective data
was examined for change. One problem with the
project is that it requires a significant time commit-
ment that involves coordinating students’ sched-
ules. This limitation can be addressed by allotting
class time for team planning and consultation with
instructor about the project. Instructors must also
be prepared to manage possible conflicts that may
arise within teams. Requiring teams to draw up a
team code of conduct may reduce problems relat-
ing to individual workload, attendance at meetings,
and accountability.
This project provides students with the opportunity
to learn about career possibilities in the textile and
apparel industries. In addition to the opportunities
to increase career knowledge, cooperative learn-
ing, and research skills, completing the project
allows individuals to compare their personal skills,
abilities, and interests with the occupations avail-
able in the fashion industry. This process can assist
students in crystallizing their vocational interests,
planning future educational activities, and develop-
ing accurate expectations of their career choices.
By presenting this project in introductory courses,
students may be able to develop strategies early in
their college careers that will help them overcome
barriers to a particular career selection and adapt
their career plans to fit other lifestyle choices.
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