Europe’s textile, clothing, leather and footwear sector employs over 1.6 million people across more than 240,000 companies, generating around €200 billion in turnover. This scale makes one thing clear: addressing skills gaps in the sector is not a marginal issue, it is central to Europe’s industrial future.

Yet these gaps are not evenly distributed. They are concentrated in regions specialised in TCLF, where industrial clusters shape local labour markets and define very specific skills needs. This is exactly where EU Pact for Skills and its Regional Skills Partnerships initiative comes into play, bringing stakeholders together to work collectively on reskilling and upskilling to support the learning path of workers across the EU.

By connecting industry, education providers, public authorities and social partners, these partnerships create training actions that are directly aligned with regional realities. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, they allow regions to design approaches that actually match their needs.

What makes them particularly attractive is not only what they deliver locally, but also the wider benefits they unlock. Regions become part of a broader pool of practice and connect with other active regions, exchanging practices and learning from each other.  Moreover, they can gain visibility and credibility, with formal recognition under the Pact for Skills, as well as access funding opportunities that support concrete training activities in their work programmes.

Beyond these advantages, Regional Skills Partnerships help turn fragmentation into coordination. They align local initiatives with EU priorities, organise stakeholders around a shared direction, and make it easier to tap into knowledge and expertise from across Europe. This is especially important in a sector undergoing rapid change driven by digitalisation and sustainability.

A good example is the Textile Regional Skills Partnership in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the first of its kind to be officially established. Located in France’s leading textile region, home to more than 800 companies and around 18,000 workers, the partnership responds to very concrete challenges, including labour shortages, with 63% of companies struggling to fill key roles . Its approach is simple but effective: bring together businesses, educators and policymakers to anticipate skills needs, strengthen training systems, and make the sector more attractive through lifelong learning and new training pathways.

This is only the beginning. Through initiatives such as AEQUALIS4TCLF, METASKILLS4TCLF and TCLF SkillBridge, up to 30 TCLF Regional Skills Partnerships are expected to emerge across Europe, building a stronger and more coordinated approach to skills.

In a sector of this scale and complexity, closing skills gaps cannot rely on isolated efforts. It requires coordination, cooperation and a strong regional focus. Regional Skills Partnerships offer exactly that, making them a practical and effective way forward.