The President of the European Commission has just announced the launch of the ALMA programme. It is a new programme, similar to Erasmus, for younger workers temporary seeking professional experience in another State-member.

The challenge had been done by Luís Onofre in March of this year. The President of both APICCAPS and the European Footwear Confederation (CEC), who has made attracting young talent a cornerstone of his presidency, defended in an online meeting the creation of a European programme of internships in the field of design.

The digital meeting was promoted by the European Commission with the world’s fashion elite, which counted with the participation of representatives of major international brands, such as Chanel, Fendi or Louis Vuitton. Onofre defended that "the roots of fashion are in Europe, which is why it is critical not only to maintain existing jobs but also to attract a younger generation capable of ensuring new gains in competitiveness.

Onofre is particularly pleased with Ursula Von der Leyen’s announcement. "I was very happy with the announcement of this initiative just days ago, and it has a Portuguese name on top of it. Between all the measures we had suggested to attract younger people to our industry, there was precisely the launch of an exchange programme between companies that allowed the youngster to learn from experiences abroad. It was a proposal that went down well, among the many that we gave”, says Luís Onofre.

However, the proposals of Luís Onofre did not stop here. The President of CEC has also suggested creating a programme, in partnership with the world’s great designers and streaming channels, which could make known to the public the process of producing a shoe to raise notoriety to "its real value”.