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From 27 to 29 May 2026, ASLAM hosted the CirCLER Trainers Mobility in Italy, bringing together trainers, sustainability experts, project managers, cluster representatives, and learners from 12 European partner organisations. The three-day mobility combined workshops, study visits, and collaborative activities aimed at exploring how vocational education and training can support the circular transition of the furniture and woodworking sector.

Organised within the framework of the Erasmus+ project CirCLER, the mobility focused on one of the project’s main objectives: defining the skills and competences of the Circular Economy Transition Manager in alignment with the ESCO framework. Through practical activities and peer exchange, participants discussed emerging sustainability challenges, innovative training approaches, and the future skills needs linked to circular economy principles.

The CirCLER pilot phase has now been completed, and one thing became very clear: trainers also need a space to learn from each other.

That is exactly what the CirCLER Mentors’ Club supported between December 2025 and March 2026. It brought together 21 trainers from across Europe to exchange experiences while the CETM course was running in real time. 

The Mentors’ Club became a place where trainers could openly compare what worked best in different countries and learning environments.

Europe's furniture sector is facing a growing mismatch between the green skills its companies urgently need and the supply of professionals equipped to deliver them. According to the LinkedIn Global Green Skills Report 2022, open roles across EU industries requiring green skills have grown at approximately 8% per year since 2015, while the pool of workers with relevant competences has expanded at only around 6% annually. This gap is particularly acute in traditional manufacturing sectors such as furniture, where the twin pressures of circular economy regulation and digital transformation are intensifying the demand for new professional profiles.

As part of the dissemination activities of the CirCLER project, the Circular Economy Transition Manager (CETM) training course has been integrated into the complementary Passion in Action courses at Politecnico di Milano. The initiative is promoted by the Department of Design, a project partner, and contributes to the dissemination of competences related to the circular and regenerative transition in the furniture sector.