Student Placement - Womenswear Design (Clothing)

Company Description

The Barbour story began in 1894 in South Shields in the North East of England. Founder John Barbour began supplying oilskins and other garments to protect the growing community of sailors, fishermen and dockers. Still family owned and now fifth generation, Barbour HQ remains in South Shields. Under the leadership of Chairman Dame Margaret Barbour, Barbour has grown into a lifestyle brand sold in over 55 countries worldwide including Europe, the US and Asia offering a wardrobe of stylish functional clothing, footwear and accessories inspired by the unique values of the British countryside. The iconic Barbour Bedale and Barbour Beaufort wax jackets continue to be made by hand in the factory in South Shields. In 2020, Barbour launched Wax for Life, an overarching name for all of Barbour\’s wax services designed to encourage customers to extend the life of their wax garments. Wax for Life includes re‑waxing and repairs (first introduced in 1921) and Barbour Re‑Loved an upcycling circularity initiative. Each year over 70,000 wax garments are sent back to Barbour globally to be repaired, re‑waxed or altered.

Position Overview

We are excited to announce that we have opened the application process for our Barbour Student Placement Programme within our Womenswear Design & Development Clothing team. In Barbour\’s paid placement programme, students get a full immersion into the brand\’s culture for a 12‑month period. During this time, our Placement Students become an integral part of the team, tackling complex business challenges, contributing to the company\’s growth, and building relationships and skills that they will then carry forward throughout their career. This opportunity will be a temporary training contract from January – December 2026.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Technical garment drawings for specifications.
• Producing and updating specification boards showing designs and details with all specification information clearly presented.
• Producing and updating matrix boards categorising all designs in each segment area.
• Existing garment research: styles, price ranges, comparative brands.
• Researching archive and vintage garments for inspiration.
• Producing presentation boards of your research and presenting them to the designer; creating mood boards and presentation boards: themes and stories, inspirational imagery, fabrics, colour themes, design details.
• Assisting with formatting and inputting data on PowerPoint presentations for in‑house sales launch and GSM.

Skills and Experience

• Highly organised.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Business Packages.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proactive and flexible.
• Working knowledge of CAD, Illustrator, Prezi, Photoshop.

Additional Information

• To apply for this position, you must be currently studying an Undergraduate Sandwich Degree Course and able to undertake 12 months in industry as part of your course.
• This placement is based in our South Shields Head Office.
• To apply for this placement, follow the application process on the careers page by attaching your CV. Once you have applied, please email your portfolio or examples of your work to recruitment@barbour.com.

Benefits

• Staff discount
• Staff shop
• 25 days holiday as standard increasing with length of service plus bank holidays
• Access to training and development activities to support your career development
• Free onsite parking
• Subsidised canteen
• Operate hybrid & flexible working
• 4pm finish on a Friday
• Wellbeing support
• Reward & Recognition Program

Note

In the event that a sufficient volume of suitable applications are received, the post may close prior to the specified closing date. Please apply as soon as possible if interested.