Launched: July 2026
Ambition
The textile, clothing, leather and footwear (TCLF) sector is changing rapidly across Europe. As companies respond to the green and digital transition, they continue to face skills shortages, an ageing workforce, limited interest from young people and uneven regional opportunities, all of which threaten long-term competitiveness.
As such, the Regional Skills Partnership for TCLF in the North-East, Prague and Zlín regions aims to build a long-term, sustainable skills system that can respond flexibly to structural changes while strengthening sectoral competitiveness and attractiveness.
Commitments
The Partnership commits to three actions:
- Support initial and lifelong education by updating vocational programmes, strengthening retraining through National Qualifications Frameworks and improving teacher development in cooperation with regional companies.
- Enhance employer–education cooperation by improving communication channels across the regions, collaborating on the adaptation and development of curricula and promoting TCLF study and career pathways to increase their attractiveness.
- Strengthen skills intelligence and planning through coordinated labour market analysis, regular updates to occupational and qualification standards, and stronger continuity across education levels to align skills development with sector needs.
Impact
The Partnership will introduce vocational education and retraining programmes on modern textile technologies, digital skills, sustainability and process innovations. Meanwhile, aligning education with industry through closer school–employer cooperation will update curricula, support scholarships and ensure study pathways reflect company needs.
At the same time, improved communication will enhance information-sharing among stakeholders, promote development opportunities to the wider public and disseminate best practices across the sector.
Skills intelligence tools will provide regular labour‑market analyses, demographic forecasts and occupation‑specific recommendations, while lifelong learning programmes and the National Qualifications Framework will support adult retraining and professional qualification pathways.
Read the Partnership Declaration.
