On 11th March, the Leicester Fashion Hub team attended the End of Project Celebration for the Multiply programme, led by Leicester Adult Education.

Fashion-Enter Ltd’s Fashion Hub Leicester pioneered the Multiply course, embedding essential numeracy skills into fashion and textiles. Covering key industry applications—such as cutting ratios, garment measuring, and financial literacy—Multiply has empowered 120 learners over 2.5 years. With 101 participants completing the programme and the council has now confirmed funding for 2025/26.

Cllr Mustafa Malik: Assistant City Mayor, Communities, Adult Learning, Jobs and Skills, Spinney Hill Ward, stated that the main vision was to develop skills to achieve two targets: “The first target was to reach individuals that are reluctant to learn maths and those that are difficult to engage. To do this required the support of wonderful partners: WAE, Fashion-Enter Ltd, Twin Training, Wesley Hall, Leicester College, Business to Business, Bangladeshi Youth and Cultural Shomiti, and many more, that provided support and expertise to make this work. 

“I wouldn’t not say this is an End of Programme event, I would say that this is celebration for the hard work we put together to deliver this project, and how successful we were in changing lives of individuals by providing and helping them to understand maths in different ways.”

Kerry Grey: Head of Leicester Adult Education said: “The Multiply project partnered with 20 organisations, including Primary Schools, Community Centres and Libraries.

“This project included qualified and non-qualified courses; maths for ESOL learners, additional input to aid learners achieve qualifications, enterprise projects for learners who experience enduring mental health issues, maths applications for the workspace (mainly in construction), family learning courses and courses on budgeting.

“We know there are successes from this project. However, there were challenges faced in order to achieve these targets, including explaining about the courses to individuals and convincing them to join the course. 

“When I see the individual success stories and case studies it makes me feel proud. This programme has helped the employers to upskill their candidates and make them aware of importance of numeracy. As well as helping individuals with their budgeting and help parents to support their kids. Without the support of our project partners this wouldn’t have been possible.”

Divya, FTA Leicester Assistant Manager, added: “Delivering the Multiply course has been an incredible journey. We have supported learners from diverse backgrounds, helping them build confidence in numeracy and understand its vital role in the garment industry. From financial calculations to garment measurements, these skills are now part of their professional toolkit.”