Master the Act design, develops and tests a teaching and learning for the education and lifelong learning of EU professionals that blends face-to-face theatre-based labs with flexible digital learning. It aims to improve a complex skillset that includes digital skills, emotional intelligence, creative thinking, interpersonal and communication skills, leadership and teamwork, along with global competence needed to thrive in a changing labour market. It supports the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth); likewise, it raises awareness about opportunities offered to Europeans looking for a job and funds dedicated to SMEs and helping them hire European professionals. The project aims at upskilling and broadening working methods of two target groups: - job facilitators and enablers (HR managers, recruitment specialists, head hunters, career counsellors, public and private employment agencies), - theatre managers, trainers and professionals. Master the Act builds on the Fake It Till You Make It action (2017) aimed at providing unemployed people belonging to social groups at risk or facing discrimination in finding work, with soft skills for employability. The 2-year initiative has proven to be truly impactful and its outreach has attracted an interesting number of vulnerable jobseekers, especially in Spain, among younger and older workers, women and migrants, people with disabilities, and others. Likewise, in Italy all the trained people have started up an entrepreneurial initiative. Its innovative teaching and learning methodology has drawn from theatre practice and has built on the “Spot-on” method, developing a novel hands-on approach that has been tested and validated. It can be experienced by candidates taking part in drama workshops where they create theatre productions and perform them for public audiences. Through this process they are expected to demonstrate their skills and abilities much needed for employment (such as teamwork, leadership, communication and entrepreneurial skills, among others). By acknowledging results of the project Fake It Till You Make It, Master the Act also acknowledges the emerging need for trainers and adopters of the improved methodology, so as to increase the amount of jobseekers supported in their empowerment process. After the end of the project, partners will test the deployment of a monitoring and tracking system, comparable to a self-assessment tool, suitable for capturing progression in employability skills of both a) trainers/adopters of the novel methodology, among job facilitators, Public Employment Services’ staff and theatre professionals, and b) jobseekers, among young and adult people trained and empowered by the former categories, so as to test effectiveness and consistency of the method on target groups and beneficiaries. The ultimate goal is keeping on feeding contacts within the community created by the means of the project. Master the Act builds on a partnership that purposefully includes VET providers, Public Employment Services and players from theatre and CCIs, so as to enhance opportunities for wider acceptance and mainstreaming of the practice proposed, while improving responsiveness of VET to the labour market.
The overall objective of the MACT project is to improve in European professionals a set of complex competencies including key competencies for lifelong learning, soft skills and hard skills, to contribute to the overall development of their global competence, which is necessary to enter and grow in an ever-changing labour market. The main beneficiaries of the development of these competencies will be: - The job seekers belonging especially to more vulnerable and disadvantaged groups (indirect target); - The trainers, intermediaries and mentors in turn are involved in the development of the employability levels of the above-mentioned persons. This second group is considered as the direct target. So, the specific purpose is to develop and train a new professional profile: the Creative Mentor for Employability, a professional able to support jobseekers in developing their employability by the use of a methodology that includes not formal and theatrical techniques and combines them with mentoring techniques and professional development. Therefore, the MACT Methodology aims to upskill and broaden the working methods of two target groups: the job facilitators and enablers and the theatre trainers and educators.
In January 2020, EU-27 recorded unemployment at 6.6%, with rates of 13.7% in Spain, 9.8% in Italy and 8.2% in France (Eurostat). Regarding youth unemployment, rates have been 30.6% in Spain and 29.3% in Italy respectively. Lower levels, otherwise, have kept in Poland (2.9%) and Romania (3,9%). Research proves that unemployment doesn’t affect the financial aspect only, but reasonably leads to people losing their sense of identity and self-esteem, because the job acts as a self-definer, boosting self-awareness and providing, among other positive effects, social contacts for those with limited family and social networks. In this context, job enablers and facilitators are expected to become more effective and efficient, providing more intensive and personalized assistance for socially excluded people and discouraged job seekers. These professionals are challenged to improve their emotional intelligence, communication and positive approaches to counselling and lifelong guidance. At the same time, since theatre professionals’ lives include periods of unemployment that may be long, it could be helpful to provide them with novel opportunities to explore their potential in helping young and adult Europeans to improve their soft skills.