October 2025, ITECH

In the textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) sectors, preparing the next generation of professionals requires more than classroom knowledge. It depends on a strong connection between education and industry, ensuring that graduates are ready to face real challenges from day one.

The luxury segment provides an example. In France, it is an important professional outlet for graduates with higher education in materials science, especially those specialised in leather and textiles. A large share of graduates from these majors at ITECH Lyon begin their careers in luxury houses or within their supply chains.

The variety of positions graduates occupy shows how much the luxury industry has evolved and is now searching for new skills. Many enter traditional roles in Production and Operations Management, Quality control or Purchasing departments. But increasingly, new opportunities appear: Regulatory Project Man-agement, Upcycling R&D, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), or environmental management within produc-tion sites. These roles illustrate how luxury supply chains, while a niche, are particularly active in areas where investment and shorter supply chains make it possible to move faster—such as environmental ac-counting or traceability.

This constant evolution raises a key question: how can we prepare students for a sector that is both highly demanding and in perpetual transformation? Each institution has its own way of addressing this chal-lenge. At ITECH Lyon, we have chosen to do so by continuously strengthening our ties with industry, so that academic training is enriched by professional input and real-world experience. Work-Based Learning is a core principle, ensuring that students experience industrial reality throughout their studies. Long in-ternships and year-long research projects give them the chance to work on innovation and sustainability challenges directly with companies. But the partnership is also structural. Industrial federations are repre-sented in the school’s governance, helping to shape the direction of programmes. Industrial actors provide constant feedback on training needs, ensuring that the curriculum evolves in step with industry expecta-tions. Companies are also directly involved in teaching, whether through specialised modules, guest lec-tures or conferences. This ongoing dialogue is also visible outside the classroom: the school regularly takes part in industry fairs and collaborative events, which connect students with professionals and high-light the know-how and future opportunities of the sector.

Examples like these show how education and industry can work hand in hand. The MetaSkills4TCLF project takes this approach to the European level. It brings together industrial partners and educational institutions across the textile, clothing, leather and footwear sectors, with the same goal: aligning training with the real challenges of the industry.

The luxury segment illustrates how investment capacity and shorter supply chains make it possible to move faster on issues such as environmental accounting and traceability. But it is not alone: other parts of the TCLF industries have also developed specific strengths. The footwear sector, for example, has ad-vanced expertise in recyclability and biodegradation, driven by the intensive use and shorter lifespan of shoes.

The ambition of MetaSkills is to spread what each segment does best and to turn these strengths into shared competences. By creating common tools and frameworks, the project allows experiences gained in one part of the industry to inspire and benefit all the others, ensuring that the entire TCLF ecosystem moves forward together.

Work-Based Learning proves every day that close links between education and industry are the key to preparing graduates for tomorrow’s challenges. MetaSkills extends this principle across Europe, by feder-ating industries and institutions and by encouraging each segment of the TCLF sector to bring its own contribution. Together, these “bricks” form a common foundation for the future.—one that strengthens the entire TCLF sector across Europe and ensures that skills development keeps pace with the industry’s transformation.