Europe’s Social Partners meet in Edinburgh to review progress in their “Leather is my job!†initiative
The Scottish city of Edinburgh hosted the Mid-Term meeting of the “Leather is my job!†project developed by the Social Partners of the European Leather Industry with the support of the European Commission. The objective of this Social Dialogue initiative is to awake the appetite of people, in particular young people thinking about their professional careers, for the leather industry. By providing the testimonies of those already working in the industry and conveying the reasons for their career choice, both sides of the leather industry intend to break certain deeply rooted misconceptions about this profession that is offering good jobs.
In Edinburgh, the project partners from the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Romania reviewed the progress in the collection of testimonies and the lessons drawn from the two regional workshops organised (Northampton, UK; Bucharest, RO) in May. 25 tanneries in 7 countries provided 51 testimonies and more are yet to come. The appeal of the initiative to the industry exceeded the Social Partners’ initial expectations, a sign indicating the appropriateness of the project. Also the two regional workshops were much appreciated, notably for the insight they provided in both “new and old†EU Member States in a number of areas regarding apprenticeships, education, training, skills and qualifications and the commonality of the challenges and opportunities.
Under the chair of the EU Social Partners, COTANCE and industriAll, the project partners took a number of operational decisions regarding activities related to the preparation of the promotional material and the organisation of the final event of the initiative.
Final Conference in Bucharest on 23 October
“Leather is my job!†will be showcased at the 5th ICAMS 2014 Opening. Indeed, the project’s final event will take place in Bucharest on the 23rd of October 2014 where the material produced will be presented to the public. ICAMS is the International Conference on Advanced Materials and Systems organised by ICPI, the Romanian Leather Technology Institute. Every second year, it gathers the scientific community, businessmen, educators and academia as well as students and public authorities around innovation in the industrial production of materials and systems in the leather sector. Registrations are still open for anyone wishing to attend the 5th ICAMS in Bucharest.
On that occasion, the European Social Partners of the Leather industry will present the result of their one-year project and illustrate the lessons learned during its development.
June 2014
