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 has identified 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, by promoting 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.
The TCLF 2014 Report reveals that “by 2025, five times more job opportunities will be created for highly skilled workers than for lower-skilled workers.” In this context, the qualification requirements for working in the European footwear sector need to be redefined in order to revitalize the labor market with skilled professionals who will offer the sector its full potential. dicSHOEnary aimed to provide the necessary technical language infrastructure to strengthen the international communication of the shoe industry and establish new partners, and to support the current and willing managers of the industry with the most up-to-date and necessary language skills and training according to expectations and needs. To do this, dicSHOEnary produced a set of 3 intellectual deliverables that realize the project objectives, supported by management activities and a usage plan. The results are to be disseminated even after the project ends. Activities include: a) Language guide containing 3172 professional terms in 10 languages determined by needs b) Interactive web portal
In recent years, the European shoe industry has been affected by innovative business models, high-tech production, design and R&D, environmental problems, etc. It has changed and will continue to change in a way that specializes in subjects appropriate to the specific needs of the company and demands new skills. Additionally, businesses must be able to adapt to changes in order to remain in a competitive environment. The most recent updated assessment of skills needs in the European footwear industry, carried out in 2014 by the European Sector Skills Council (TCLF) for the textile, clothing, leather and footwear industry, identified a range of employment and skills factors influencing and shaping the TCLF sector, including in the footwear sub-industry. , such as: regulation and multifaceted governance, demographic and population change, environmental change, economy and globalization, technological change, changing values and identities, consumer demand.