Overall project implementation of Live Skills is on track and significant progress is being made on several work packages to align with minimum deviations with the initial GANTT chart of the project.Since the beginning of the project the partnership and collaboration has steadily beenstrengthened and improved and both the monthly online and the 3 face to face meetings of the consortium have taken place in a positive and productive way. The 4 main challenges affecting the sector identified at application phase are being addressed as follows:1.VET education does not match industry needs: The project activities are informed by evidencebased, thorough and market-oriented data. Existing research papers as mentioned in the application were into account together with the project’s research. The methodology used ensures a balanced and market led approach. In addition, the curricula will include a work based learning part that will provide learners with the opportunity to gain relevant skills required by the market/industry.2.Digital shift and technological developments are changing the ways AV & LP works: One of the 3 curricula is specifically dedicated to digital and new technologies, and the research identified the key digital skills needed. The other 2 curricula will also include several online learning sessions that will enhance digital skills of learners.3.Skills Diversification & LLL needs are not fully addressed: curricula materials and resources will be made available through the Creative Common Licence « badge », making them available to a wide variety of professionals within the creative sector and not exclusively for participants of curricula piloting. In addition, a particular attention is given to soft and transversal skills which are relevant to a wide range of professions within the sector.4.AV & LP are not enough entrepreneurial: Entrepreneurial skills are specifically addressed by a dedicated curricula on Cultural Entrepreneurship, which includes modules that tackle creativity, leadership, new business models etc. The curricula aim to give also to more technical professions the skills to build their own business and a sustainable free-lance career in the sector. As far as the overall work performed & main results are concerned, the management structure and processes (WP1) are well in place & working smoothly and expected WP1 deliverables were completed during the reporting period. The project’s management was faced with several challenges that affected the overall implementation and work plan. They have all been addressed and partners are working towards achieving the expected results and impact. The research main activities and deliverables (WP2) have been delivered and finalised, and major skills gaps and shortages have been identified. They have substantially fed the development of the curricula content (WP3). The preparatory work for curricula development kicked off and is in an advanced stage, with the aim of being completed in the next couple of months. The pilot phase (WP4) is foreseen to start in the in the 2nd part of the project. Quality assurance (WP5) strategy & methodology have been developed and applied to project activities, and a QA report for the 1st 18 months is submitted with this interim report. The external evaluator (WP6) has been recruited and the 1st evaluation report is also submitted, which presents an overall positive assessment of the project while making some recommendations to further improve the cross-country collaboration.The visual identity, communication strategy, website and social media accounts are well in place (WP7), a number of presentations and briefs with external audiences have also taken place, while other activities and outputs will be developed in the 2nd part of the project.
The aim of the Live Skills project was to tackle skills gaps in the Creative and Cultural Sector (CCS) and more specifically in the Audio Visual (AV) and Live Performance (LP) sectors and offer new innovative training to upskill students and cultural professionals in the areas of digital and new technologies, arts management and cultural entrepreneurship, responding to current market needs and modernising VET systems in the UK, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. The Live Skills Alliance was composed of a consortium of nine partners across 4 countries - including expert VET providers in the sector, associations of both employers and cultural professionals, a national accreditation and certification body, a cultural organisation and two European wide associated partners. Live Skills project has designed and delivered three comprehensive and innovative vocational education and training programmes for students and professionals in the Audio Visual and Live Performance sectors, after a thorough research which included desk research, surveys, personal interviews and focus groups, as well as evidence-based process and qualitative findings which identified current trends and skills needs in those sectors in the countries in focus. These results fed into the design of the three new training programmes/curricula, which were then tested through a two-stage pilot of courses and seminars following a blended learning methodology and culminated with a number of short work placements in cultural institutions and creative businesses. More than 655 learners have taken part in the training in the four countries and approximately 100 of them have been offered short work placements in about 25 cultural organisations in Bulgaria, Greece and the UK. The curricula have been made available for free use under creative commons licence on the project’s website that will remain operational for two more years in order to reach and impact a maximum number of stakeholders and learners, alongside with all other resources produced at various stages of the project addressed to students, cultural professionals, teachers, VET providers, employers in the sector as well as education authorities and policy makers. These 200+ free resources altogether, make a significant and holistic contribution to modernising VET education in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and the UK and boosting the cultural sector’s capacity to grow and respond to current and future market needs.The project also disseminated its outputs through the organisation of information days, participation in events organised by other stakeholders, a final international conference turned into a webinar during the COVID19 confinement, and the organisation of sustainability taster and demonstration workshops and policy symposia during the last phases of the project’s implementation, engaging other VET providers, education authorities and stakeholders at large. More than 5000 people in the EU accessed information and materials via the project’s events, website and social media pages. A robust Quality Assurance mechanism has accompanied the project throughout, and a Quality Assurance report was one of the project’s deliverables. In addition, an Evaluation and Quality Assurance Panel was formed, which had regular meetings, offering reviews and recommendations for every deliverable of the project, ensuring that the three curricula were of high quality and aligned with ECVET and EQAVET and that accreditation and transferability could be pursued further following the official closure of the project. Long-term procedures for Quality Assurance and accreditation of the curricula were among the outputs and will potentially support recognition and accreditation processes beyond the lifespan of the project. Finally, an Evaluation Report was produced by an external independent Evaluator which has followed the project throughout, and which reports very positive assessment of the project’s achievements and its quality.