Annual Report 2014

In 2014, the ISPs have worked extensively to update and expand previously produced sectoral intelligence on:

1. Employment situation of the TCL sector including forecasts and trends
2. Evolution of the TCL sector's occupations and the associated skills
3. Innovative tools, national and regional strategies, initiatives, methods to monitor skills needs and address skill mismatch and gaps

This year’s final report, gathering the results of the above-mentioned work, represents an essential piece of sectoral intelligence towards the implementation of concrete actions for the benefit of the TCLF sectors in the fields of skills, education and training.

On the basis of the updated information, the TCLF ESSC maintains the relevance of the recommendations issued in 2012. For 2014, the Council has reshaped recommendations as one structural recommendation, defining the conditions in which the ESSC can maximise its impact on sectoral Employment and Skills, and four prioritised actions for implementation in the short-medium term by the ESSC through specific projects at national and European level.

On these basis, the future ESSC should:

• increase the sectoral and territorial representativeness of the ESSC, taking into consideration the territorial distribution of the TCLF manufacturing and the national peculiarities in terms of production, added value and resident knowledge
• implement and develop an efficient and harmonised system to collect and elaborate reliable data and information on employment and forecasting
• involve more actively different categories of national and regional stakeholders, essential for the implementation of concrete projects
• further develop cooperation and exchange of good practices among its members.

And the European Commission should:

• support the TCLF ESSC through adequate resources, while keeping its autonomy and ensuring its medium to long term stability
• foster the strategic complementary interaction between the ESSC and other initiatives on employment and skills (ESCO, EU Skills Panorama, European qualification framework, Sector Skills Alliances and Knowledge Alliances) and favour exchange of information on common long term objectives.

The ESSC shall exploit the sectoral intelligence developed and the established network of stakeholders to develop concrete projects aiming at:

• supporting the implementation of communication strategies toward the new generations, emphasising the career opportunities in the EU TCLF sector and attracting new skilled workers to the industry
• favouring the design and delivery of joint VET programmes, teaching and training methodologies, based on the evolving sectoral needs
• creating a framework for a rapid response to the current evolution in business models, processes and sales strategies, in terms of continuous training and competences provision
• developing a TCLF quality training certification scheme, on the basis of requirements already developed by national ISPs.