The Canadian textile industry's innovative achievements in the area of skills development will be showcased at the ITMA (Internationale Textilmaschinen Ausstellung) trade show and Forum in Birmingham, UK from October 22 to 29.

ITMA is by far the largest and best known textile industry event in the world. In 1999, the exposition was held in Paris and attracted 1,250 exhibitors and more than 150,000 visitors from 130 countries.

A key feature at this year's event will be the international launch of the Textile Training Through Technology™ comprehensive workforce development system. For the first time, representatives of the Canadian and world textile industries visiting the Textiles Human Resources Council booth will be able to view and order Textile Manufacturing Skills and Workplace Performance Skills programs.

The detailed and state-of-the-art Textile Manufacturing Skills programs include:

• Fibres & Yarn Manufacturing
• The Weaving Process
• The Knitting Process
• Dyeing, Finishing & Printing of Fabrics
• Nonwoven Technology
• Quality Control & Testing, Process Control & Plant Operations
• Apparel Manufacturing
• Textile Manufacturing Basics

Workplace Performance Skills will include online business and personal development programs from Harvard Business School Publishing and the Cardean-Thomson consortium of five other leading business schools from North America and Europe. These programs will be available free of charge or will be heavily discounted for THRC Canadian and international members.

The THRC's award-winning initiatives in support of the Canadian textile industry will also be featured at the first-ever ITMA Forum "New Frontiers in Textiles" on October 23-25. The panel discussion on Skills Management, taking place on October 24 from 12pm to 2pm, is expected to attract 500+ international CEOs and other senior managers.

As a panelist, the THRC will be provided with a limited number of passes to the session.

For more information about ITMA and its Forum, visit www.itma.com.

For further information, please contact:

Sarah Watts-Rynard
Manager of Communications
613.230.7217, ext. 304