News
27 January 2026
Reinventing TCLF education: METASKILLS4TCLF unites Europe to attract talent and close the skills gap
News
27 January 2026
Skills
Social dimension
Textile
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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.
European Confederation of the Footwear Industry
Topics
Albania
Armenia
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
EU-27
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Türkiye
Ukraine
Other
Academic / Research and VET Institutions
Business Support Organisation
Company with 250 or more employees
Cluster Organisations
Consumer Organisations
Cultural and Heritage Organisations
Destination Management & Marketing Organisations
EU Institutions
Financial Institutions and Investors
Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce
International Organisations
Local Authorities
Media / Journalist Organisations
National authorities
Networks and Federations / Confederations
NGOs / Non-profits
Notified Bodies
Regional Authorities
SMEs (a company with less than 250 employees)
Social Economy Entity
Trade Unions
Other
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Transition Pathway's building blocks
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Skills
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Industrial ecosystems
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Textile
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Textiles ecosystem areas
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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 us on LinkedIn and Instagram, or by subscribing to our 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!

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