TexGreen

TexGreen: Advancing Sustainable Innovation in Fashion&Textiles

                   2025-1-TR01-KA210-VET-000358477

                   Combined Focus Group and Survey Report

                   by IHKIB Vocational and Technical High Scool

1. Executive Summary

The combined survey and focus-group exercise shows a clear pattern: industry and VET respondents rate circular design and LCA literacy among the most important sustainability/digital skill areas, while traceability and digital grading appear lower in perceived importance (but still critical). Respondents generally report low–moderate hands-on competency in 3D/digital tools (many report “basic / no experience”), patchy knowledge in practical LCA and traceability, and an appetite for hands-on, short intensive lab-style training (face-to-face micro-labs / blended workshops) with tangible incentives (industry certificates, access to licensed tools, mentoring). The most frequently named practical obstacles are software/hardware access, instructor readiness, time constraints and management buy-in.

Bottom line for the workshop: focus on short intensive hands-on modules that combine an immediately useful digital tool (e.g., CLO3D mini-project) with a sustainability analytic (basic LCA + circular-design exercise) and include access to a trial license and a micro-credential. This combination answers both a skills gap and the incentive question (tool access + certificate).

• Methods & Sample Notes

• Data sources: (a) Survey raw responses (free-text sketches, tool lists, ranking strings) and (b) the focus-group moderator notes (guidance and reported themes).
• Approach: treat the survey ranking questions as the primary quantitative anchor.  The raw ranking sequences provided for each skill into summary statistics.
•  Lower average rank = higher perceived importance.
• Integrated qualitative free-text and focus-group themes to explain the “why” behind the numbers.
• Sample size: ranking responses per skill ranged between 15–17 respondents (depending on small differences in who ranked what). This is a small sample so conclusions are indicative.

• Quantitative Results — Ranking Analysis

Mean and median ranks from the raw ranking strings from the survey(Q4). Lower mean → higher importance.

Skill area (Q4)	n (respondents)	Mean rank	Median rank	Interpretation
Circular design	16	3.19	3.0	Highest priority overall — respondents often placed this in the top 1–3 positions.
LCA literacy (Life Cycle Analysis)	17	3.29	4.0	High priority — several respondents put LCA at #1.
AI for forecasting / predictions	16	3.44	2.5	Strong interest (some put AI very high), but opinions vary — some rank lower.
3D prototyping	15	3.93	3.0	Mid-high priority; mixed familiarity but strong perceived payoff.
Sustainability labels	16	4.12	4.0	Moderate priority — seen as useful but practical impact less immediate.
Digital grading	16	5.00	5.5	Lower priority relative to others, but still relevant for production workflows.
Traceability / data	16	5.12	5.0	Lower average importance in ranking, though many qualitative comments stress its difficulty and strategic importance.

Interpretation: circular design and LCA literacy were consistently placed near the top of importance lists; traceability and grading tend to be ranked lower on average. However, focus-group evidence shows traceability is perceived as difficult to implement (cost/IT/data governance), which may explain why respondents rank it lower (recognised as important but seen as a longer-term systems challenge).

• Qualitative Synthesis (Themes From Survey Open Answers & Focus-Group Notes)

Below are the dominant qualitative themes that support and explain the quantitative rankings.

A. Current competency & tool exposure

• Many respondents report basic or no 3D experience (comments: “CLO3D — basic level”, “Optitex – start”, “I have experience in 2D design, not 3D”). Several referred to Gerber / Illustrator / Photoshop / Excel as the main tools in daily use — i.e., traditional CAD and office tools dominate.
• Sustainability knowledge is heterogeneous: some participants have circular design training and practical experience using recycled materials; others have only theoretical knowledge.

B. Preferred training modalities (strong themes)

• Face-to-face hands-on workshops and micro-labs are consistently preferred (lots of “………” after “Face to face workshop” in survey). Respondents highlight the need for trial access to licensed tools during training and short, time-efficient modules.
• Blended delivery (practical face-to-face + short online preparatory modules) was flagged as most effective .

C. Barriers to adoption

The most frequently-cited barriers:

1. Software/hardware access & license costs (“Access to the Design Program ..”, “Licensed program”).
2. Time constraints & heavy production timetables.
3. Lack of instructor training and limited technical support.
4. Management buy-in / culture — absence of prioritisation for digital transformation.

D. Incentives & assessment preferences

• Strong incentives: mentoring, tool access during training, and industry-recognised certification.
• Trusted assessment formats: sector/industry assessment and project portfolios (practical deliverables) are preferred over only multiple-choice testing.

E. Masterclass topic demand (practical list)

Top topics named for a 2-day masterclass: hands-on CLO3D, AI for trend forecasting, circular design, LCA basics, and supplier engagement / traceability introductions.

• Integrated İnterpretation: How Survey + Focus Groups Form The Skills Priority Matrix

• Why circular design & LCA top the list: survey ranking puts them highly; focus-group notes explain the motivation — designers and companies want practical ways to reduce environmental impact and see circular design as immediately applicable to product development. LCA is ranked highly because it gives measurable evidence for sustainability claims.
• Why 3D is mid-high priority despite limited competency: 3D is seen as a clear cost-saving and sampling-reduction tool, yet many respondents lack the practical skills. This creates a clear training opportunity: a fast ROI if training is targeted and tool licenses are provided.
• Traceability ranks lower but is strategically critical: many responders rank traceability lower because it’s perceived as high-cost, multi-stakeholder, and IT-heavy. Focus discussions emphasised that traceability requires supplier buy-in and IT systems — therefore treat it as a medium–long term guideline priority and introduce pilots in workshops rather than full-scale implementation.

Resulting high-priority training targets (shortlist for the workshop & Skills Priority Matrix):

1. Circular design + upcycling workflows (practical labs)
2. LCA basics for designers (applied calculator + short case study)
3. 3D prototyping (CLO3D hands-on mini-project)
4. Intro to AI for product & demand forecasting (short applied module)
5. Traceability starter (data responsibilities, simple pilot using a traceability demo platform)

• Recommendations For The Final Skills Priority Workshop (Structure & Agenda)

The Skills Priority Workshop is a central component of TexGreen’s Needs & Skills Assessment phase. Based on survey findings, focus-group discussions, and the facilitation guide, the workshop must (1) validate priority skills, (2) map feasibility, and (3) generate concrete, training-ready outputs that will feed into the A2 Digital Training & Dissemination Workshop and later the LTTA Masterclass.

            6.1 Overall Workshop Purpose

The workshop should:

1. Consolidate the 7 skill clusters (as established: 3D prototyping, digital grading, LCA literacy, traceability, circular design, labels & communication, AI forecasting) using real participant ranking and qualitative insights.
2. Produce a joint Skill Priority Matrix (Importance × Feasibility) with consensus across VET teachers, students, and industry professionals.
3. Identify 2–3 skills requiring immediate capacity-building for A2 and later the LTTA Masterclass.
4. Define concrete training tasks, didactic methods, and needed resources for each top skill.
5. Document cross-cutting barriers (licensing, hardware, instructor readiness, time) and identify early solutions.
6. Practical issues & risk mitigation (drawn from focus-group notes)

• Licensing & hardware: Plan cloud-based workstation/remote GPU access if local hardware is insufficient; negotiate short academic or pilot licences with tool vendors.
• Time constraints of industry participants: keep modules short and produce tangible outputs; offer a condensed single-day track for executives focusing on ROI and managerial decisions.
• Instructor readiness: include a 2-hour instructor train-the-trainer slot before Day 1 or include an experienced industry practitioner as a co-trainer.
• Suggested Annexes & Deliverables To Attach To The Final Report
• Raw survey file and cleaned dataset (anonymised).
• Focus-group moderator summary (verbatim notes + thematic coding).
• Skills Priority Matrix (Excel + Word)
• Workshop agenda, session plans and assessment rubric (one-page each).
• Tool procurement note: recommended vendors & trial license steps (CLO3D, Browzwear, TextileGenesis etc.).

Findings: Survey and focus-group data indicate that circular design and LCA literacy are the most urgent priorities for training, closely followed by 3D prototyping and applied AI. Respondents report limited hands-on experience with 3D prototyping tools and limited practical application of LCA, but a clear appetite for short, practice-focused workshops that include licensed tool access and industry-recognised micro-credentials. Common barriers to adoption are hardware/licence constraints, instructor readiness and limited management support.

Recommendations: Prioritise a two-day applied masterclass that combines a CLO3D practical, a circular-design sprint and an applied LCA session, followed by a traceability pilot planning session. Include pre-work online modules, short instructor training, trial licences for participants and industry-assessed project portfolios as the certification method. These steps will produce immediate, measurable outputs for partners and create pilot cases for broader scaling. (KPIs: virtual prototypes completed; LCA mini-reports; traceability pilot commitments; participant competency gain.)