"“Ecotextyle: Vocational Education and Training on Product Environmental Management for the Footwear and Textile Sector"" was a 24-month partnership at European level coordinated by the Centro Tecnológico del Calzado de La Rioja (CTCR) (Spain) with the cooperation of Neo Sapiens (Spain), BATTI (Bulgaria), Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM) (Italy), Institute of Leather Industry in Lodz (IPS) (Poland), Zavod IRCUO (Slovenia) and SATRA Technology Centre (United Kingdom). Funded under the Key Action 2 of the Erasmus+ programme for strategic partnerships for vocational education and training, this development of innovation project gathered organisations from different countries but working on the development of programmes to train and educate on product environmental footprints (PEF) on the footwear sector and the production of textile complements related to it. The objective of the project was to overcome the needs faced by manufacturing companies to offer the highest quality in products, reach a competitive differentiation and reduce operating costs to promote exports thanks to the creation of a training pathway for their workers. Considering sustainability and environmental accounting as the base for new job positions and vocational profiles, the project made possible the creation of a training itinerary dealing with life cycle assessment processes and services resulting from their implementation (Environmental Product Declaration, Eco-design, Product Environmental Footprint, Carbon Footprint, etc.).To make this possible, the project partnership developed a working programme of two years focused on exchanging good practices and knowledge among professionals of the sector that could be afterwards gathered in a single and interactive space. In order to ensure not only the quality of this output but also its suitability and matching with the project target groups, Ecotextyle carried out different activities on its six partner countries such as focus groups, interviews, workshops, online testing, impact research, etc. that also involved those who potentially could use the project results after the project end: students, workers, board members and professionals in general related to the footwear and textile industry and belonging to SMEs or VET centres. As a result, Ecotextyle developed an Online Training Platform providing updated information and materials divided in five independent thematic modules dealing with the bases for the production of eco-friendly products on the footwear and textile sector: Product life-cycle analysis, eco-design, carbon footprint, ecolabelling and environmental product declarations and product environmental footprint. This tool will allow the users to properly apply Product Category Rules (PCR) and to implement the EPD and/or PEF (still in testing phase) in line with the current and future European policies. According to all of this, Ecotextyle has made possible the creation of an interactive training tool that allows its users to tailor made their own learning itineraries and acquiring key competences related to their working sector and market. Moreover, the platform contains self-assessment tools to encourage its users’ interaction and that provides recognition to those completing all the theoretical and practical content included on it. All of this will contribute to develop the training of a new generation of workers on the footwear and textile sector. They will be aware about the importance of implementing new production methods that could be respectful with the environment and have a positive impact on their areas, while promoting new procedures that could optimise the use of the limited raw materials and resources of this industry.All the information about the project, its partners, collaborators, activities, materials and outputs can be found on the project website, main access point to its training platform too: http://ecotextyle.eu/"

Over the last years, the European footwear sector has been changing in the way it demands more specialised expertise and new skills suitable to company’s specific requirements towards new business models, innovative and high-tech technologies, design and styling, environment issues etc.Furthermore, in order to remain competitive, businesses must be able to adapt to changes. The latest updated assessment of the needs for skills in European footwear industry, performed by European Sector Skills Council for textile, clothing , leather and footwear (TCLF) industry in 2014 hasidentified various drivers of employment and skills that are influencing and shaping the TCLF sector, including the footwear sub-sector too, such as: regulation and multi-level governance, demographic and population change, environmental change, economics and globalisation, technological change, changing values and identities, consumer demand. The TCLF 2014 Report reveals that “five times more jobs are to be opened for highly qualified employees than for low-qualified employees by 2025”. Within this context, the necessary qualification requirements for working in the European footwear industry must be redefined in order for the labour market to be reinvigorated with skilled professionals that will offer their full potential to the industry. dicSHOEnary aims to provide the technical language infrastructure necessary for strengthening the international communication of the shoe industry and for the establishment of new partners and to support the current and enthusiastic managers of the sector according to the expectations of the most current and necessary language skills and training needs.In order to do so, dicSHOEnary will produce a set of 3 intellectual outputs that materialise the project objectives, supported by management activities and an exploitation plan that will ensure the dissemination of its results even after the project has ended. The activities include: a) Need Analysis& State of the Art Report, b) Language guide in 10 languages with 3000 vocational terms e) Interactive web portal The dicSHOEnary partnership was established on the basis of combining the different backgrounds, experience and expertise of 10 partners from 9 countries, who have had experience in implementing transnational projects, in the field of vocational training, or in the field of footwear industry, in order to complement one another regarding their role in the project.dicSHOEnary aims to reach a large number of persons inside and outside the partnership, using different communications activities and channels by promoting the project and its results among European involved and/or interested organizations, and, at a national and regional/local level, bypromoting the project results among target organisations and end-users. Almost 1500 persons are estimated to be able to be informed about the project and benefit from its activities, including VETs, policy-makers, associations and organisations dealing with footwear, universities, research centres, managers of the sector and potential ones and trainers.The intellectual outputs developed by dicSHOEnary will be concrete and transferable, so that they can be exploited even after the project conclusion, both by the partners and by other stakeholders.The research activity implemented during dicSHOEnary can be the starting point for implementing research activities in the field. Managers and potential managers will be offered the opportunity to access the dicSHOEnary on the platform even after the end of the project and the world of Education, Research and Industry will have the opportunity to be part of a community which will be set the ground for developing innovative footwear products, new projects and common initiatives.