4 August 2025 – Planning training for yesterday’s jobs is a risk Europe’s textile, clothing, leather and footwear industries cannot afford. As companies invest in digitalisation, circularity and more sustainable production, the competences needed on the factory floor, in design offices and across supply chains are changing too.
The 2025 Skills Intelligence work carried out within METASKILLS4TCLF provides an updated picture of these developments. Based on input from companies, vocational education and training centres, universities and other sector stakeholders, the research identifies how green and digital priorities are reshaping skills demand across the TCLF ecosystem.
The findings point to the growing importance of sustainability-related competences, including circularity, environmental compliance and traceability. Digital capabilities are also increasingly important, particularly as the sector prepares for developments such as the Digital Product Passport and wider data-driven production and business processes.
This type of skills intelligence matters because it helps translate broad industrial change into concrete education and training priorities. Companies need to know where shortages are emerging, while schools and training providers need reliable evidence to update curricula and develop new learning pathways. Policymakers and regional authorities also require a clearer picture of labour-market needs in order to target support effectively.
For EURATEX, regular skills intelligence is a key part of a more responsive European skills system. The objective is to connect evidence with action: identifying gaps early, updating training faster and ensuring that the workforce can keep pace with technological and regulatory change.