Fashion-Enter Ltd Strengthens Fashion Technology Academy with Education Expert Kurt Hintz

As the UK fashion industry continues to address its skills gap, Fashion-Enter Ltd (FEL) is reinforcing its commitment to delivering high-quality education and training through the appointment of leading further education specialist Kurt Hintz as Non-Executive Advisor to its Board.

Working closely with the Fashion Technology Academy (FTA), Kurt provides strategic oversight of the Academy’s educational provision, quality assurance and governance, helping ensure that learners receive industry-relevant training aligned with the highest educational standards.

Officially joining Fashion-Enter’s newly established Non-Executive Board in December 2025, Kurt has been working alongside CEO and Founder Jenny Holloway and Head of Education Lan Leeder to strengthen curriculum delivery, learner progress monitoring and professional development for teaching staff.

His expertise has also supported the expansion of specialist partnerships with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) schools, ensuring that the Fashion Technology Academy continues to widen access to careers within the fashion and textiles industry.

Nearly Three Decades of Educational Leadership

Kurt Hintz is one of the UK’s most respected further education leaders, bringing almost 30 years’ experience in college leadership, curriculum innovation, organisational transformation and educational governance.

His career began as an engineering lecturer in New Zealand before moving to the UK in 2004. During a distinguished 15-year career with Capital City College Group, Kurt progressed from Curriculum Director at CONEL to Executive Principal, overseeing 11 London college campuses serving around 30,000 learners while successfully leading major financial and organisational improvements.

It was at CONEL that Kurt first collaborated with Jenny Holloway to establish one of the UK’s pioneering Fashion Academies and develop some of the country’s earliest fashion apprenticeship programmes in partnership with Skillset, now part of UKFT.

Since then, Jenny and Kurt have maintained a close professional relationship spanning more than 17 years, united by a shared ambition to improve vocational education and create meaningful pathways into employment for thousands of learners.

Following his time at Capital City College Group, Kurt moved into interim executive leadership, serving as Interim Principal and CEO of Petroc College before taking up the role of Interim Principal and CEO of Havant and South Downs College (HSDC). Alongside his work with Fashion-Enter, he is also a trustee of OCN London and Ambitious about Autism and continues to contribute to regional skills strategies and education innovation.

Driving Continuous Improvement

Following the Fashion Technology Academy’s Ofsted inspection in November 2025 under the new inspection framework, two recommendations highlighted opportunities to strengthen governance oversight of teaching and learning, alongside further enhancing professional development for tutors.

Fashion-Enter Ltd viewed these recommendations as an opportunity to build on its existing strengths and appointed Kurt to provide independent educational scrutiny and strategic guidance across the Academy.

Since joining the Board, Kurt has worked with the leadership team to review quality assurance processes, strengthen learner progress systems and enhance teaching practice. These developments form part of the Academy’s commitment to continuous improvement, ensuring learners benefit from an outstanding educational experience while gaining the practical skills demanded by today’s fashion industry.

Jenny Holloway commented: “We accepted the feedback from Ofsted and saw it as an opportunity to become even stronger. Strengthening our Non-Executive Board and inviting Kurt to lead on educational quality assurance was an important step for the Academy.

“His advice and guidance have already had a significant impact. We’ve introduced enhanced quality assurance processes, strengthened our teaching practice and continued to develop the support we provide to learners of all abilities, including those with SEND. Kurt brings an exceptional depth of educational knowledge, and we are delighted to have his continued support as we develop the Fashion Technology Academy for the future.”

As Fashion-Enter Ltd continues to invest in both manufacturing excellence and skills development, the appointment reflects the organisation’s long-term commitment to raising standards in fashion education and helping build the skilled workforce that the UK fashion and textile industry needs.