May, EURATEX

On 21 May 2026, METASKILLS4TCLF took part in the ECOSYSTEX Insight Series #22, a dedicated Skills Edition focused on skills development, vocational education and training, and the future workforce needs of the Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear sectors. The online session gathered strong interest from the community, with 123 registered participants and 87 attendees joining the webinar.

The webinar was organised within the ECOSYSTEX Skills Education Working Group and brought together four Erasmus+ projects working on different dimensions of the green and digital transition in the TCLF industries: W4TEX, FEA-VEE, VETRINE and METASKILLS4TCLF. The session was opened and moderated by Pedro Gonçalves, from EURATEX, who introduced ECOSYSTEX as a European community of practice supporting inter-project collaboration, engagement with policymakers and dissemination across EU-funded textile sustainability and skills initiatives.

The first project presentation was delivered by Sara Harper, from the University of Borås, who introduced W4TEX and its work on empowering women for leadership in sustainable textile management. The project presented practical learning resources, including the “Be A Manager” platform, green practice tools and ideathons designed to support women’s managerial, entrepreneurial and sustainability competences in the textile sector.

Elena Kopanarova then presented FEA-VEE, the Fashion Earth Alliance project, which is funded under the Erasmus+ Centres of Vocational Excellence initiative. The project connects VET providers and entrepreneurship representatives across six countries, with the objective of creating skills ecosystems for innovation and regional development in the context of the green and digital transition. Its work includes modern VET curricula, internships, international study visits and policy pathways for sustainability in fashion and textiles.

The third project, VETRINE, was presented by Ana Paula Dinis, Director-General of ATP Portugal. Her presentation focused on greening fashion education through VET innovation and industry collaboration, with particular attention to the Entre-Fashion process. The approach moves learners from theoretical training to real product development, combining mentoring, feedback, material research, prototype development, market reflection and final public evaluation.

METASKILLS4TCLF closed the project presentations with a contribution from Rita Souto, project coordinator from CTCP, the Portuguese Footwear Technology Centre. Her presentation, “Towards a coordinated skills ecosystem for the TCLF industries”, showed how METASKILLS4TCLF is working to strengthen European cooperation on skills and respond to emerging needs in the textile, clothing, leather and footwear sectors. The project builds on the TCLF Pact for Skills and the previous Skills4Smart TCLF Blueprint, with a strong focus on digital skills, circular economy, innovative training methods, inclusion, attractiveness and competitiveness.

During the session, METASKILLS4TCLF presented its work towards an updated skills strategy, new training programmes and multi-level resources for the sector. The project also highlighted its innovative learning content, including 36 e-books and manuals with augmented reality, 220 videos for virtual reality, and resources available in 11 languages across clothing, textile, footwear and leather.

The discussion showed how European projects are addressing the TCLF skills challenge from complementary perspectives: women’s leadership, vocational excellence, sustainability education, industry collaboration, digital learning and immersive training environments. Together, the presentations underlined the importance of stronger links between education providers, companies, technology partners and sector organisations.

For METASKILLS4TCLF, participation in the ECOSYSTEX Insight Series was an opportunity to share ongoing results with a wider European project community and to contribute to the common objective of building a more coordinated, inclusive and future-ready skills ecosystem for the TCLF industries.

May, EURATEX