10 new Regional Skills Partnerships join the Pact’s Large Skills Partnership for Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear Industries

The Pact for Skills’ Large-Scale Partnership for Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear Ecosystem is called the TCLF Skills Alliance. It brings together key stakeholders of the industry to invest in up-skilling and re-skilling pathways for working-age people across Europe.

10 new Regional Skills Partnerships have joined this Large-Scale Partnership to work together to expand the TCLF workforce’s skills and meet the innovation opportunities of the EU’s twin green and digital transitions.                                                                                                

The ambition

The TCLF Skills Alliance brings together textile industry stakeholders with employers, social partners, chambers of commerce, public authorities, education and training providers and employment agencies. It aims to create and support several new Regional Skills Partnerships across the EU.

The 10 new Regional Skills Partnerships joining the TCLF Skills Alliance are:

• Regional Skills Partnership for Textile & Clothing in Catalonia;
• Regional Skills Partnership for TCLF in Attica;
• Regional Skills Partnership for the TCLF Industry in Malopolska;
• Regional Skills Partnership for Textile & Clothing in Central Slovenia;
• Regional Skills Partnership for TCLF in Nouvelle Aquitaine;
• Regional Skills Partnership for Leather in Baden-Württemberg;
• Regional Skills Partnership for TCLF in Emilia Romagna;
• Regional Skills Partnership for the TCLF Industry in North-East, Prague and Zlin;
• Regional Skills Partnership for Textiles and Clothing in Valencia (TCTexVal) and its sister partnership
• Regional Skills Partnership for the Valencian Community's Footwear and Leather Industries (LFootVal).

With the addition of these new Regional Skills Partnerships, the TCLF Skills Alliance is on its way to achieve its aim of upskilling and reskilling of 5 % of the workforce each year by 2030 across the TCLF ecosystem.

The challenges

The TCLF industries across these European regions face similar critical challenges in skills development.

A common issue includes skills mismatches between worker abilities and job expectations. These are often caused by existing education and training programmes not meeting the real needs of the TCLF industry. This means the industry needs more skilled workers, especially in the wake of the green and digital transitions, Industry 4.0 and innovations like smart textiles.

The regions also often face ageing workforces caused by a lack of generational renewal and difficulty attracting young talent. Contributing to this is a negative perception of the TCLF sector, caused by a low appeal of textile careers among young people, despite the high-value opportunities brought by innovative technologies and sustainability.

However, there are challenges associated with using and scaling these technologies, such as difficulties with digitalisation and sustainability principles like the circular economy and eco-design, and issues related to automation like robotisation and artificial intelligence usage. 

The commitments

Although each Regional Skills Partnership has set its own commitments to help achieve this target and rejuvenate their regions’ TCLF industries through upskilling and reskilling, they have many similar approaches.

At the heart of their commitments is structured collaboration to bring together companies, administrations, social partners, vocational education and training providers, universities and technology centres.

By working closely with stakeholders at local, regional and national levels, the new TCLF Skills Alliance partnerships will develop targeted training initiatives that respond to evolving skills needs. These aim to help workers learn new skills or improve existing ones while strengthening TCLF industry skills intelligence through shared insights on job roles, gaps and emerging demands.

The partnerships will also enhance the attractiveness and social value of the TCLF sectors by promoting them as innovative, sustainable and future-oriented industries to encourage workers from younger generations. Fostering a culture of lifelong learning, equality, inclusion and fair working environments across the sector is also central to their commitments.

Driving innovation, digitalisation and sustainability is another priority. This includes integrating green and digital skills into training systems and industrial practices, supporting SMEs and designers through hands-on training, mentoring, apprenticeships and prototyping, and promoting the adoption of new technologies.

Find out more about the TCLF Skills Alliance, or explore the Pact for Skills’ Regional Skills Partnerships.