This time the initiative is presented to students from the Polytechnic Institutes of Lisbon and Leiria, with the program aiming to lead them to discover areas complementary to their own.  After some physical and digital initiatives, the program is now targeting polytechnic students at this stage. Through newsletters and communication on the social networks, the Open Your Mind project will play a role in attracting young people under 30 to the Textile, Clothing, Leather and Footwear sectors.

In addition to the students at the Polytechnic of Lisbon and Leiria, the campaign will also develop an action with the European Blue Flag Association (ABAE), disseminating the information at the level of secondary education, vocational education and some higher education institutions.

About the Campaign

The Open Your Mind campaign is part of the Skills sector cooperation project: careers in the textile / clothing / leather / footwear sectors (Blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills: showcasing careers in the textile / clothing / leather / footwear sectors), and its main objective is to deconstruct prejudices associated with professions with great tradition in Europe and, at the same time, to encourage young people to perceive in a promising way the work opportunities in sectors with great weight in the Portuguese economy. Attracting young talent becomes essential at a time when innovation, digital technologies and sustainability are key in these industries.

In addition to Portugal, the campaign is being implemented in five more European countries - Spain, Italy, Romania, Poland and Germany.

Why work in these sectors?

The clothing, textile, footwear and leather sectors are strategic in Europe, representing an annual turnover of 200 billion euros and employing 2.2 million people (66% are women) in 225 thousand companies. In countries like Portugal, Italy, Spain, Romania, Germany and Poland, they have a significant weight in exports. For younger people, a career in such areaa is attractive not only for the creativity involved, but also for the possibility of, through the creation of innovative solutions, contributing to a cleaner planet. Digital technologies and technological development itself in terms of R&D, production, dissemination and marketing of articles of clothing, textiles, leather and footwear have created new profiles of professionals, many with a high degree of specialization, making them appealing, for example, to graduates. On the other hand, globalization has created opportunities to study outside the country of origin, namely through the Erasmus program, or to develop a career in various parts of the globe.