The European production of shoes and footwears is at risk of decline, due to the aggressive competition of China. The shelter is named “high quality and fashion” and must be forged through a robust injection of new tech in the products and processes.What should be possible only if the concerned SMEs and their workforce are prepared: i.e. if he SMEs are prepared to develop R&D and the workers to support the transfer of the results of R&D in the production. The latter need therefore appropriate training. Appropriate training should be based upon a matrix, where the re-shaping of the shoemakers strategies (as it can be foreseen in the middle term) should drive the re-shaping of training. The innovation of training should be a consequence of prospective studies, implemented in Spain and Italy, concerning the new trends in shoes production over the next 5 years (design, environment friendliness, materials, technology in the product and in the process). The relevant training shall be planned by the workers themselves, during the pilot training, and shaped according to the results of the quoted studies. The partnership includes entities well introduced in the footwears industry: therefore the dissemination strategy has a consistent basis for sustainability also after the conclusion of the project.. -- OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: The Objective:upgrade the qualifications of workers in the european industrial and artisanal sector of shoes production, in order to contrast the current risk of decline. In order to attain the objective, a programme of blended training with a consistent content of e.learning will be implemented and disseminated through partners having strong links with the concerned SMEs or sectorial associations of SMEs. The Activities:the planned pilot training will involve 90 workers, whose role is not only to test the effectiveness of the draft e.learning course, but to enhance the design of an innovative training programme. -- RESULTS AND PRODUCTS: The prospective studies concerning Italy and Spain are an intermediate but important outcome, in order to understand the foreseeable developments in the sector. The training programme (manuals for the attended section of the training course) and the e.learning course on the web are the final results and products. Other products are the electronic (CD) and printed materials that shall be distributed in the context of the valorisation activities. -- POTENTIAL FUTURE: The elearning course produced for the shoes sector could be adapted for other sectors having a consistent component of manual handicraft.