| COTANCE - ETUF:TCL - UNIC - FEMCA-CISL 
First workshop on training needs in the tanning sectorOn March 26th and 27th, COTANCE (European Confederation of National Associations of Tanners and Dressers) and ETUF: TCL (European Trade Union Federation: Textile, Clothing and Leather) – social partners at European level – organised a first European workshop on training needs in the tanning sector. The initiative, supported by the European Commission (Employment and Social Affairs DG), was arranged in Turin by their Italian members, UNIC (Unione Nazionale Industria Conciaria) and FEMCA - CISL. It was the first meeting between enterprises, workers’ representatives, training institutions, students and young people organised to analyse the evolution of qualitative and quantitative training needs, and therefore the future action lines and strategies to be adopted in the field of training for the Italian and European leather sector. This workshop also coincided with the celebration in Turin of the 100th anniversary of the leather-training centre Giacinto Baldracco. With a direct employment of about 53,000 workers, the European tanning sector generates a turnover of nearly 10 billion euros in Europe, this without taking into account the contribution of the leather industry towards world leadership of other important sectors such as fashion, footwear or leather goods. The important export rate (40%) shows the success of the "made in Europe" label in the world and the quality of the workforce of the sector. However, it must be noted that the discrepancy between the training needs of human resources and the availability of appropriate personnel risks, in the long term, to lead to a deadlock. In Italy, which represents 65% of the sector at European level in terms of enterprises and employment, only 80 graduates a year leave the four training centres for tanning technicians. At this occasion, Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano declared that this situation was clearly unsatisfactory and that it is not better in other Member States. In his conclusions, the COTANCE Secretary General insisted on the need to invest in the strategic resource represented by human resources. Their good management and a training infrastructure adapted to the needs of the sector derives from the need of a continued innovation and improvement of means to face the challenges of the world market. Mr Gonzalez-Quijano favourably commented the project of UNIC, the administration of the Turin province and the Turin Industrial Chamber to joint forces, in order to transform the Baldracco Institute into a European training centre in the tanning sector at all levels: managers, technicians, specialised workers and therefore, to avoid losing an important heritage of traditions and culture. On the other hand, he reminded that it is also necessary to promote the sector’s capacities to attract the young generation by also looking to the enlargement to the East and, if needed, to have professional insertion structures for the tanning sector at a pan-European level. On his side, Mr P. Itschert underlined the high number of positive results of 5 years of Sectoral Social Dialogue at European level. He then stressed the need for this workshop to have a follow-up and to effectively allow for a better complementarity of the supply and demand of training in the sector at European level, as well as the need to better anticipate change but to do this in a social dialogue context rather than through confrontation and the importance of involving both social counterparts in the training, as well as improving communication and partnership between the industry representatives and the other public actors of training. The ETUF: TCL Secretary General finally suggested that the European sectoral social partners should endorse the agreement adopted by the ESC / UNICE - CEEP on the “development of skills and lifelong learning". Proceedings of the WorkshopConference speeches are available on request to : cotance (at) euroleather (dot) com Analysis of Training
Needs (English) Interested in Training in the Leather Industry? See also our page on the Spanish Seminar on the Modernisation of Work in the Tanning Industry. |