Press Release: Reinventing TCLF Education - METASKILLS4TCLF Unites Europe to Attract Talent and Close the Skills Gap
The Erasmus+ Blueprint METASKILLS4TCLF project is taking the European Textile, Clothing, Leather, and Footwear (TCLF) industries by storm. On 20-21 January, partners from Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain and Ukraine gathered in Kraków, Poland, to assess progress and plan the next project activities. Partners are working on upgrading the industries from various fronts.
To lay the foundations for strong collaboration within the TCLF industries and to ensure a highly skilled workforce, several networks are being established at European, national, and regional levels. These include a European Network of TCLF education providers promoting excellence, a European Network of regional public authorities supporting the modernisation of TCLF education, and, last but not least, the development and implementation of regional alliances, such as regional TCLF Pacts for Skills, led by public-private skills partnerships. Together, these initiatives aim to empower the workforce with the right skills for both current and future needs.
When it comes to education content and tools, ten TCLF project education providers are working together to bridge the gap between what is required by companies and what is being taught in VET and Higher Education by producing new multilingual learning materials, such as e-books, online training courses, an AR app, and virtual reality training courses for VR headsets. The new European Virtual Fashion Campus, a platform that will offer students and workers a range of freely accessible non-immersive learning resources is being developed. Furthermore, the project will establish twelve Metaverse Labs where students can explore practical work filmed in real TCLF work environments throughout Europe using VR headsets. Students will be able to learn both as individual players and in the multiplayer mode with a teacher.
Against the backdrop of the ageing workforce and the challenge of recruiting young workers, several activities are taking place to increase the attractiveness of the sectors for the young generation, such as holiday workshops for children, open days at education centres, and interviews with workers. There will also be national fashion contests organised across participating countries culminating in an international fashion contest where the four TCLF finalist students will be invited to MICAM Milano trade fair, to present prototypes of their designs.
Finally, improving the labour-market integration of migrants is also a relevant project objective. To this end, a web-based tool is being developed to support the early identification, validation and recognition of migrants through the creation of multilingual, accessible profiles and CVs, enabling clearer communication, smoother labour-market integration and a more effective match between skills, training needs and job opportunities across Europe.
Discover how you can get involved in this project by following METASKILLS on LinkedIn and Instagram, or by subscribing to the newsletter with the latest updates on our initiatives and progress. Join us in transforming skills for a sustainable and digital future in Europe’s TCLF industries!
