By 2030, the European fashion industry will require 500,000 new employees. Data from the European Commission suggests that this challenge is common to other sectors and will particularly affect countries like Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal.
Aware of this reality, APICCAPS has launched a “Knowledge Roadmap” in schools to prepare future generations and attract new talent to the industry. In the school year that has just ended, the Roadmap promoted activities in 42 schools and involved more than 1,000 students. In total, over two years, 3,000 students have been reached. In practical terms, within this “Knowledge Roadmap”, since the beginning of the school year, schools in Felgueiras, Guimarães, Oliveira de Azeméis, Santa Maria da Feira, and São João da Madeira — the main hubs of the Portuguese footwear industry — were visited.
In its first phase, the initiatives targeted primary school students and aimed to “showcase the potential of the footwear industry”, “highlight local territory and activities”, and “promote local industry.” Later on, students in lower and upper secondary education were introduced to the concept of the factory of the future.
“As the footwear and leather goods sector advances to new levels of excellence, hiring highly qualified professionals is a priority,” says Luís Onofre. For the APICCAPS President, “there is still a set of stereotypes in society regarding industrial sectors that need to be debunked. Even though this is not an exclusively Portuguese problem, there is close work to be done.” Luís Onofre also highlighted “the absolutely decisive role played by local authorities in regions with a strong concentration of the footwear industry.”
This “Knowledge Roadmap” will last three years and is part of the Footwear Cluster Strategic Plan 2030, developed under the BioShoes4All project.
Footwear Industry Open Day Arrives in Felgueiras
To showcase the work carried out throughout the school year, which sought — among other goals — to stimulate students’ creativity and involve families, APICCAPS and CTCP organized the Footwear Industry Open Day.
As part of the planned activities, the “Past, Present, and Future” space in Felgueiras opened its doors, giving students and families the opportunity to visit the exhibition “Past, Present, and Future” and the exhibition “Sneakers — First Steps in Felgueiras”, curated by collector Pedro Carvalho Almeida; participate in an ESCAPE ROOM titled “Discovering Felgueiras’ Industrial Heritage”; engage in hands-on activities developed in the classroom, such as puzzles and illustrations; see the exhibition of illustrations created by primary school students; and explore the shoe sculpture exhibition made by young students using recycled materials.
Additionally, families could participate in the award ceremony for the “Magic Box” Contest, which aimed to promote a competition to create a shoe sculpture using recycled materials, targeting families and primary school students.
In total, 15 prizes were awarded across the five municipalities that partnered in the project.
“My first words are for you — students — because without you this would not have the same meaning. It was designed specifically for you, and it was you who got your families involved in this project,” began Ana Medeiros, Councillor of Felgueiras City Council. She emphasized the importance of the project: “Feel involved in the purpose of this project because, in fact, we need to bring passion to the footwear sector. And for people to experience moments like these, with enthusiasm and a vision for the future.”
This sentiment was echoed by Irene Guimarães, Councillor of São João da Madeira City Council, who once again stressed the importance of this initiative in a municipality where the footwear industry is so predominant.
The councillor of the host municipality for this Open Day thanked “everyone for helping us build this project and for believing that the footwear sector is the sexiest industry in the world and has legs to stand on. Without shoes, life is still a bit difficult. So, let’s believe it’s a promising industry and that these will be the young professionals and, who knows, the big entrepreneurs of the footwear sector tomorrow.”
Ana Medeiros also highlighted the importance of education for the future of the industry: “Schools play a fundamental role in training professionals for these new areas, which also bring new challenges. Today’s industry is not yet what it will be in the future. So, the young people today who live in this context have a perception of today’s industry, but that will not be their professional reality. Their environment will be different — more related to technology.”