On the 14th and 15th of May, the 13 public and private partners of the Erasmus+ Fit2Com project, co-funded by the European Commission, gathered in Porto, Portugal, to finalise the content and logistic arrangements of a pilot course to test the new developed training programme on comfortable fashion footwear related to the qualification profile also created under the project. The participants will have the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in comfort and health features for fashion-based footwear by following an online course, which will be complemented by practical exercises in the form of workshops in respective partners centres of Germany, Portugal, Romania and Spain.

The aim of the Pilot Course is to test, perfect, and validate all the course units developed under the project. The online course has been designed to facilitate interaction and dialogue between trainer and trainee and includes helpful additional activities which will help students practice and maintain the knowledge acquired throughout the course. Based on the participants’ experiences of the course, the project partners will be able to fine-tune its contents and features to ensure an optimum and efficient learning experience for the future students of the validated course. Furthermore, the pilot will be carried out with the involvement of companies from the four mentioned countries, which will host the trainees.

In the EU, there is a strong demand for comfortable shoes in the fashion sector, a finding which was confirmed by a study on consumers’ preferences conducted by the CEC in 2017 available on the project website. This trend will continue growing in view of the ageing population and consumers determination to prevent and ensure a healthy and long life.

Companies need therefore to ensure that workers have the required skills and knowledge in merging the latest fashion trends and aesthetic designs with a deep understanding of what makes shoes comfortable for consumers.

If you are a footwear technician apply now to participate in the Pilot by filling in the form on the following link: www.fit2comfort.eu.

The call for applications will close on the 20^th of June 2018.