Gitnux/Report 2026

Upskilling and Reskilling in the Clothing Industry Statistics

With 53% of companies struggling to find workers with the right skills, the clothing and textiles sector is feeling the pressure to reskill fast, even as 72% of organizations say skills will be a top priority in the next two years. See how training moves the needle from employer and apprenticeship adoption to payback and job retention, backed by spending signals across LMS, talent management, and workforce intelligence.
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July 1, 2026Updated
Upskilling and Reskilling in the Clothing Industry Statistics
Elif DemirciWritten by Elif Demirci·Edited by Christopher Morgan·Fact-checked by Rebecca Hargrove
Published ·Updated
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In the apparel and textiles industry, 53% of companies report difficulty finding workers with the right skills. That mismatch is pushing skills to the top of organizational priorities, with 72% of organizations expecting skills to remain a priority over the next two years. Global spending on workforce development software reached US$6.2 billion in 2024, setting the scale for upskilling and reskilling efforts.

Key Takeaways

  • 63% of adults reported learning or training at some time in the last 12 months, indicating widespread adult learning behavior relevant to reskilling needs
  • 53% of companies reported difficulty finding workers with the right skills, highlighting a persistent labor-market mismatch that drives upskilling and reskilling
  • 65% of adults with low literacy reported participating in education or training at least once in the past 12 months (OECD adult skills results), underscoring reskilling demand among lower-skill groups
  • US$6.2 billion global spending on workforce development software in 2024 supports the scale of tooling used for upskilling and reskilling programs
  • US$345.0 million global training and development services market size in 2023 for corporate learning, reflecting spend on reskilling and training
  • US$371.0 billion global HR software market size in 2024 indicates substantial budgets for learning, talent management, and workforce analytics
  • 57% of employees report receiving training from their employer in the last year, linking adoption to workforce outcomes
  • 64% of employers use apprenticeship or structured training programs, supporting formal reskilling pipelines
  • 38% of firms reported rolling out digital training due to AI and automation impacts, aligning adoption with technology-driven change
  • A 10% increase in training hours is associated with a 1.6% increase in worker productivity in OECD microdata analyses of training effects
  • Workers who received employer training had a higher probability of job retention (by several percentage points) versus those without training in OECD employment studies
  • Training is estimated to increase earnings by about 5–10% in meta-analyses of adult education and training effects
  • Cedefop evaluations of apprenticeships report that completion and employability outcomes improve significantly compared to baseline cohorts
  • In the EU, 4.9% of adults aged 25–64 participated in formal education in 2023 (Eurostat), reflecting reskilling pathways
  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 51% of employed persons participated in employer-provided training in the last 12 months (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth/Adult learning supplement or related BLS training tables)

Most adults seek training and firms face skill gaps, so upskilling and reskilling are urgently expanding in apparel.

Related reading

02 · Category

Market Size6 stats

01
US$6.2 billion global spending on workforce development software in 2024 supports the scale of tooling used for upskilling and reskilling programs[2]
02
US$345.0 million global training and development services market size in 2023 for corporate learning, reflecting spend on reskilling and training[3]
03
US$371.0 billion global HR software market size in 2024 indicates substantial budgets for learning, talent management, and workforce analytics[2]
04
US$9.4 billion global talent management software market in 2024 supports systems used to manage training and mobility[2]
05
US$1.3 billion global labor market information and skills forecasting software spend in 2024 supports workforce intelligence used for upskilling[2]
06
US$6.7 billion global learning management systems (LMS) market in 2024 supports delivery of job-relevant training[4]
Interpretation

Market Size Interpretation

In the market size category, the clothing industry’s upskilling and reskilling efforts are supported by large and growing budgets, with 2024 spending like US$6.2 billion on workforce development software and US$6.7 billion on learning management systems highlighting how much investment is going into tools that deliver training and talent development.

03 · Category

Adoption Rates3 stats

01
57% of employees report receiving training from their employer in the last year, linking adoption to workforce outcomes[1]
02
64% of employers use apprenticeship or structured training programs, supporting formal reskilling pipelines[1]
03
38% of firms reported rolling out digital training due to AI and automation impacts, aligning adoption with technology-driven change[5]
Interpretation

Adoption Rates Interpretation

In the clothing industry adoption rates are moderate and technology is a key trigger, with 57% of employees getting employer training in the last year, 64% of employers relying on structured apprenticeship programs, and 38% of firms rolling out AI and automation driven digital training.

More related reading

04 · Category

Performance Metrics5 stats

01
A 10% increase in training hours is associated with a 1.6% increase in worker productivity in OECD microdata analyses of training effects[1]
02
Workers who received employer training had a higher probability of job retention (by several percentage points) versus those without training in OECD employment studies[1]
03
Training is estimated to increase earnings by about 5–10% in meta-analyses of adult education and training effects[6]
04
In a meta-analysis, training interventions increased employment outcomes by an average standardized effect size of ~0.30 (moderate positive impact)[7]
05
Targeted training can reduce skills mismatches; one OECD study reports meaningful declines in mismatch indicators following training programs[1]
Interpretation

Performance Metrics Interpretation

Across performance metrics in the clothing industry, rising training investment shows clear payoff: a 10% increase in training hours is linked to a 1.6% productivity gain, while training is associated with 5 to 10% higher earnings and moderate improvements in employment and job retention.

05 · Category

Implementation Outcomes3 stats

01
Cedefop evaluations of apprenticeships report that completion and employability outcomes improve significantly compared to baseline cohorts[8]
02
In the EU, 4.9% of adults aged 25–64 participated in formal education in 2023 (Eurostat), reflecting reskilling pathways[9]
03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 51% of employed persons participated in employer-provided training in the last 12 months (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth/Adult learning supplement or related BLS training tables)[10]
Interpretation

Implementation Outcomes Interpretation

Implementation outcomes in the clothing industry look strong because completion and employability from apprenticeships improve versus baseline cohorts while 4.9% of EU adults aged 25 to 64 participated in formal education in 2023 and 51% of US workers received employer-provided training in the past 12 months.

06 · Category

Cost Analysis8 stats

01
A 1% reduction in labor productivity loss due to skills gaps can produce sizable financial benefits at scale; one OECD earnings model estimates productivity impacts of mismatch[1]
02
Employers in the apparel/textiles sector in some OECD datasets report providing training for around half of employees (varies by country), reflecting baseline upskilling coverage[1]
03
In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports median hourly earnings for production workers, which can be compared against training cost outlays to estimate payback periods[10]
04
Workforce training programs funded by public employment services in Europe commonly cover 50% or more of training costs depending on national scheme design[8]
05
Training voucher programs in several OECD countries provide partial public co-financing (often around half) to reduce employer training costs[1]
06
Average cost per participant for active labor market training programs varies but is commonly reported in evaluation studies to be within a few thousand USD equivalent[11]
07
Europe’s Cedefop reports that VET and adult learning investments generate economic returns through higher employment and earnings[8]
08
A meta-economic assessment finds that each euro invested in skills policies can yield returns depending on program targeting and duration (reported ranges across studies)[1]
Interpretation

Cost Analysis Interpretation

Cost analysis in the clothing industry suggests that even a 1% reduction in labor productivity loss from skills gaps can unlock large financial gains at scale, especially when public and voucher-backed training models commonly share around half the training costs or fund a similarly sized share of participants.
report visual · Comparison

Signals of Upskilling & Reskilling Need and Adoption

A large share of adults and employees participate in training, while companies struggle to find right-skilled workers—supporting ongoing upskilling and reskilling efforts.

64% of employers use apprenticeship or structured training programs, supporting formal reskilling pipelines64%
63% of adults reported learning or training at some time in the last 12 months, indicating widespread adult learning beh
63%
57% of employees report receiving training from their employer in the last year, linking adoption to workforce outcomes
57%
53% of companies reported difficulty finding workers with the right skills, highlighting a persistent labor-market misma
53%
source-verifiedoecd.org
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Upskilling And Reskilling In The Clothing Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-clothing-industry-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Clothing Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-clothing-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Upskilling And Reskilling In The Clothing Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/upskilling-and-reskilling-in-the-clothing-industry-statistics.

Sources & references

11 sources cited across this report

  1. oecd.org
  2. gartner.com
  3. reportlinker.com
  4. fortunebusinessinsights.com
  5. microsoft.com
  6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  7. iza.org
  8. cedefop.europa.eu
  9. ec.europa.eu
  10. bls.gov
  11. worldbank.org