FBI, Eisenberg Offer Free Patternmaking Software Training
In June, the Joyce Eisenberg Apparel Job Skills Training Program will debut at Fashion Business Inc., the Los Angeles– based nonprofit business resource and training center. The Joyce Eisenberg program will train unemployed patternmakers to use computer software for patternmaking, said FBI founder Frances Harder. The program was funded by Eisenberg, owner of The New Mart showroom building in Los Angeles.
The program’s first group of 10 patternmakers will take a more-than-25-hour course where they will learn how to create formulas for Excel cost sheets and how to use computer-aided design (CAD) software, which creates fashion patterns. CAD provider PAD System Technology Inc. is one of the program’s partners, Harder said.
The people taking this course are experienced in flat patternmaking, Harder said. “This software program will train them specific advanced functions and processes that will help make them more efficient and valuable employees,” she said.
After completion of the class, FBI will assist trainees with reacute;sumeacute; preparation, career coaching, interviewing skills and jobplacement connections. On May 10 at 10:30 a.m., there is an informational meeting on this new program at the FBI offices, located in suite C786 of the California Market Center in Los Angeles. For more informationon the program, email info@fashionbizinc.org.
Harder initially got the idea to start this program because, she said, she found so many out-of-work middle-aged women who lacked computer skills.
Fashion manufacturing remains one of the biggest employers in Los Angeles County. According to a study published in March by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., apparel manufacturers employed 48,107 people in the county who worked in making fashion during 2010. It’s a 0.2 percent increase from 2009. —Andrew Asch
