Since EURATEX’s pledge in 2023 to strengthen skills development across Europe’s textile, clothing, leather, and footwear sectors, the TCLF SkillBridge initiative has steadily evolved from concept to implementation. The first phase of the project focused on mapping the European TCLF landscape to identify regions with strong industrial presence and strategic potential for skills partnerships. This initial groundwork led to the identification of a pool of 25 strategic TCLF regions across 10 Member States and helped build a detailed understanding of local ecosystems, institutional capacity, and existing skills gaps. Parallel outreach efforts initiated contact with regional stakeholders and laid the foundations for the establishment of dedicated Regional Skills Partnerships.

Over the course of the first year (2024), the project transitioned from strategic preparation to active engagement. A key milestone was the Stakeholder Event held in July 2024, which brought together a broad mix of regional private and public actors, including industry representatives, vocational training institutes, higher education institutions, and regional and local administrations. This event helped to catalyse interest at regional level. Since then, 11 regional workshops have taken place in high-potential TCLF areas, including Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centro, Łódzkie, Catalonia, Flanders, Attica, Campania, Baden-Wurttemberg, Emilia Romagna, Valencian Community and Nouvelle Aquitaine. These workshops, accompanied by a partnership set-up toolkit, were designed to support local actors in establishing governance frameworks, identifying shared priorities, and drafting regional work programmes. Each region has been equipped with a tailored toolkit developed specifically to guide the formation of these partnerships and align efforts with EU-level guidance.

In parallel, the project has maintained close coordination with other European skills initiatives, such as METASKILLS4TCLF and AEQUALIS4TCLF, ensuring complementarity and coherence across programmes. Communication and outreach activities have further supported stakeholder engagement, while continuous dialogue with regional actors has helped to refine upcoming support measures. As the project enters its second year, attention will now shift towards the rollout of targeted support services, peer exchange mechanisms, and training actions designed to respond directly to the needs identified during the first year. Through this structured, bottom-up approach, TCLF SkillBridge is helping to build resilient and future-ready skills ecosystems across Europe’s TCLF regions.