Partners from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine gathered in Athens on 2–3 July to advance the Erasmus+ Blueprint METASKILLS4TCLF project, which aims to equip Europe’s textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) industries with the skills required for the green and digital transitions.

European Commission announces 10 new regional skills partnerships

A key milestone marked the meeting: the European Commission officially published 10 new regional public?private skills partnerships, developed with the support of METASKILLS4TCLF, its sister project AEQUALIS4TCLF and the TCLF SkillBridge initiative. These partnerships reinforce regional cooperation to address current and future skills needs across Europe.

Within METASKILLS4TCLF, the approved partnerships include:

• TCLF sectors in Portugal’s Norte region
• TCLF sectors in Sweden’s Borås region
• TCLF sectors in Poland’s Ma?opolska region

Leather and footwear sectors in Spain’s Valencian Community
These partnerships are part of the European Pact for Skills, bringing together companies, education providers, public authorities and other stakeholders to promote upskilling and reskilling. Members gain access to expertise on emerging skills needs, guidance on funding opportunities and collaboration within a growing European community committed to building a resilient and competitive workforce.

Innovative training for digital and circular fashion
METASKILLS4TCLF is also developing innovative training solutions on digital and circular fashion, which will be hosted on the European Virtual Fashion Campus online platform. Ten education providers from across Europe are jointly creating a wide range of learning resources, including e?books, quizzes, an augmented reality app and immersive virtual reality courses filmed in authentic TCLF working environments in the project countries.

Inspiring the next generation of TCLF professionals
The project is working to encourage young people to pursue careers in the TCLF industries. Across participating countries, partners are organising activities such as children’s holiday workshops, open days at vocational education centres and video interviews featuring young professionals. National fashion competitions will culminate in an international final, where four outstanding student designers will present prototypes of their creations at the prestigious MICAM Milano trade fair.

Supporting migrant integration into the labour market
Another key objective is supporting the integration of migrants into the European labour market. To achieve this, METASKILLS4TCLF is developing a web?based tool to identify, validate and recognise migrants’ skills through multilingual, accessible profiles and CVs. By improving communication between jobseekers, employers and training providers, the tool will enable better skills matching, more targeted training pathways and smoother labour?market integration across Europe.

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