It is written TAM but you read “two-year course of high technical specialization belonging to ITS system (Italian Higher Technical Institutes). The opportunity for the young people that have passion for fashion and the textile universe to create a solid professionalism.
Entering the working world is not an illusion anymore thanks to the Social European Fund and Piedmont region as the numbers also highlight: strengthen by the experience gained in the field already during the training (more than 30% of the lesson hours is held in the companies with variable duration internships. Educational projects are organized annually with the companies to allow the students to experiment their theoretical skills dealing with the production dynamics of the sector) 95% of the graduates can count on an employment within 1 year from the end of their studies. A valuable prospective that brought 146 students to participate to 3 courses in the two-year 2020/2022: “Higher Technician of Technological Processes”, “ Higher Technician of Product and Planning and Design”, and “Superior Manufacturing and Knitting Technician”. “The ITS goal – explains Silvia Moglia, Director at ITS in Biella – is to create high level technicians to solve the problem of mismatch between working supply and demand. Our institute is specialized in the textile, clothing and fashion sector, giving an answer to the industrial call of the Biellese area. Compartments that have attracted great interest so much so that the subscribers have more than tenfold compared to the beginning.
Who wants to subscribe to one of your course?
Our students are mostly young recent graduates coming from all type of secondary schools. Their desire is to start a carrier in the textile and fashion field. Some come from other Italian regions and also from abroad, and after an initial university course, they decided to enter at TAM for the undoubted professional opportunities offered by our courses. There are also designers and aspirant designers that even if they already started their career in the fashion, they decided to specialize and deepen their knowledge on raw material, fabrics, and manufacturing and production processes.
Which are the expectation of this varied audience at the end of its own training ?
At the end of the two years the students acquire a deep knowledge of the whole textile supply chain, from raw material to finished product going through all the transforming and ennobling processes. This knowledge is not only theoretic, but also practice, thanks to the many hours passed in the textile, spinning, dyeing, finishing and knitting laboratory. Always under the supervision of teachers coming from the working world. An articulated system of internships in the most important companies of the sector completes the educational path.
The internships are of primarily importance to create a professional opportunity. Which figures are looking for the yarn and textile companies today?
According to a recent estimate, in the next 5 years the textile field will need around 13000 technicians spread throughout the supply chain. Our sector has complained for a long time about a lack of specialized technicians and it is precisely for this purpose that ITS were born. Let’s not forget that the development of the new technologies and the strong attention to sustainability need specific competences.
It is in the name of specialization that your knitting course is focused ….
“Superior process, product, communication and marketing technician for tailoring and knitwear” is the last born among the courses at TAM and started in 2019 based on the requests coming from the industry. The need was that of being able to have figures capable of intervening in the operational processes to design and manufacture products of the fashion system, with particular reference to the phases of the supply chain relating to finishing and knitwear. Just on the occasion of the new academic year, we inaugurated in Magnonevolo a big laboratory including finishing and knitting. In a surface of around 600 square meters our students have at their disposal efficient and updated machinery to learn and experiment, so that they can refine their knowledge.
It is precisely in this context that the collaboration with Tollegno 1900 and its yarn EXPLORER has become raw material for lessons in the field. Not a random choice….. Â
We selected Explorer for its versatility: it can be used in single or at 2 or 3 ends and put on all machines of the laboratory. Beside this the wide range of colors available for prompt delivery allows the students to express all their creativity in the designs. Last but not least the structure lends itself to different finishing and washing grade: a fundamental aspect in the knitting that needs a lot of practice and experience to acquire the necessary skills. But the partnership with Tollegno 1900 does not concern only the raw material but also the great willingness to welcome our students: 3 of our graduates work currently in the company. Beside this the collaboration among the school tutor responsible of the internships, Tollegno 1900 H.R., and the company tutors give us very accurate feedbacks that allow us to direct our students towards careers that best suit their inclinations.
A team game that looks at the future. Are new courses planned for the two-year period 2021/2023?
It is foreseen the beginning of a completely new course dedicated to the goldsmith supply chain and realized in collaboration with Fondazione Mani Intelligenti di Valenza where the course will take place. GEM (Gioielleria Eduacazione Moda) offers a training course that revolves around innovation and evolution of the role of the goldsmith craftsman, and introduces a process logic useful for understanding the transversality of the complex jewelry production.
