On 24th of September Portuguese partners – CTCP and CITEVE – hosted a webinar called “Addressing a revolution in TCLF Training Education” as part of Erasmus+ Skills4SmartTCLF 2030 Blueprint Project, to present the project’s developments, especially in terms of new qualifications for the sector and debate direct and long-term implications of COVID-19 in education and vocational training.

This webinar was attended by representatives of the European Confederations, of the TCLF sectors (EURATEX, CEC, COTANCE), and different entities and institutions related to vocational education in these sectors in Portugal.

 

Lutz Walter, Director of Innovation & Skills (EURATEX), in his intervention, highlighted the issue of an aging workforce in the TCLF industries in Europe (according to EUROSTAT, 35% of the workforce is over the age of 50), which makes it necessary to upgrade current pool of skills. He concluded with a presentation of five possible scenarios of how the TCLF industries may look like in the future: Renaissance of the Craft, A Brave New World, Selective Leadership, Walled Gardens, and 

Industrial Sunset.

Carmen Arias, General Secretary of the European Footwear Confederation (CEC), enhanced the importance of this type of European partnership initiatives and knowledge sharing about needs and common challenges. “It is essential to build solid local and regional VET competence ecosystems, establishing reliable partnerships between the different categories of stakeholders at regional, national, and international levels. To think global and act locally” she said during her presentation.

Christian Baio, representative of the Italian technological company SPIN360 said that “The COVID-19 emergency has revolutionized the teaching and learning modalities. Education has deeply changed, and the disruptive rise of e-learning, with remote teaching through the use of digital platforms brought its benefits together with its challenges”. For that, is essential to have greater efforts from the authorities, to set up new tools to teach teachers and trainers, students, and parents on how to embrace digital learning, using it properly and supporting online collaboration.

During the online session, Christian Baio invited participants to answer an interactive questionnaire about the direct and long-term implications of COVID-19 in education and training and presented some examples of good practices used in different countries, including the “telescola” in Portugal.

Rita Souto (CTCP) and Alexandra Cardoso (CITEVE) introduced to the Portuguese entities 8 high-demand job profiles for TCLF industries (Textile Technologist, Leather Technologist, 3D CAD Footwear Developer, Clothing CAD Pattern Maker, Sustainability Technician, (Digital) Supply chain, Digital Marketing Professional and Process Production Timeline Analyst) developed on this project and which will soon be available for testing.

For those looking for more details we would like to invite you to watch the recorded webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnTpJ2A5NXE&t=19s

 

Katarzyna Sulisz – Euratex