PROJECT'S Results
research material
Skill needs assessment for the arts and crafts sector
Despite the importance of creative SMEs for the EU economy, it is difficult to retrieve transnational evidence of the needs surrounding the arts and crafts sector, in particular those connected to skills, which are evolving at an exponential pace. This report tackles this gap using a mixed method approach. In doing so, it draws on evidence from MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project exploring how the arts, crafts and design sectors can respond more accurately to new emerging social needs and changes.
The research was conducted in 6 countries (France, Italy, Finland, Bulgaria, Canada, Armenia) by combining results of an online, structured questionnaire targeting 290 arts and crafts businesses in partner countries and 6 focus groups organised in MOSAIC partner countries and involving 36 business representatives. Collected data was analysed deploying statistical analysis in combination with qualitative coding; results address both current and future skill needs.
Findings suggest that although arts and crafts businesses have a real interest in social inclusion, digitalisation and sustainability topics, they face a series of challenges in operationalizing them, partly because they are often confronted with paradoxes and conflicting junctions. These can be tackled by developing specific skills connected to: self-development (e.g. versatility, flexibility, autonomy, self-criticism, lifelong learning, perseverance and proactive mindset), work-value relation (e.g. motivation, will, curiosity, punctuality), entrepreneurship (e.g. change management and creative entrepreneurship), digitalisation (e.g. digital literacy and digital intelligence) and cooperation and collaboration (e.g. relational abilities).
In conclusion, the study provides empirical evidence of the importance of building integrated skill sets that combine personal and technical abilities in order to further build on the adaptation capacity and resilience of future entrepreneurs and workers. The limitations of this study are present in the form of the high levels of uncertainty regarding future developments, as well as in the limited geographical reach and sample size.
Expanding sustainability thinking in vocational education in arts and crafts
Arts and crafts have become the forerunners of the EU’s sustainable development strategy through their strong potential of social and cultural innovation. However, their potential has remained to date largely untapped. The underlying research report contributes to bridging this gap by exploring how vocational educational and connected practices enable us to expand our thinking about environmental sustainability in arts and crafts.
In doing so, the report draws on the research conducted in the frame of MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project that explores how arts and crafts can respond more accurately to new emerging needs and societal changes.
The research is constructed using a practice-led lens that links the macro context (legal), to the micro-perspective provided by actors such as VET centers and craft/design businesses, to grasp the way in which best practices emerge.
One of the main outputs of this research is a framework that provides an organised manner of understanding best practices inside VET education that helps us to think about the future of eco-responsible education and skill creation. Structured in 4 chapters, the report shows that both green laws and innovative best practices inside the industry will continue to shape new visions around sustainability in arts and crafts education. The report also identifies several directions in which green practices are expected to evolve: a better integration of the environmental curriculum, industry-training adapted to real work needs, green skills development beyond materialistic determinism, hands-on green training, new forms of recognitions and certifications, flexible and tailored lifelong learning opportunities, the integration of new technologies into environmental training and green innovations driven by multi- and transdisciplinary collaborations.
Report findings draw attention to how ideas of responsible design, eco-innovation and research interventions are sustaining a long-term vision of sustainability, which impacts practitioners, educators and policymakers alike.
New economic and social business models to support young entreprene
The development of entrepreneurial best practices in vocational training in arts and crafts is likely to evolve in the future due to growing global awareness of economic and social business models issues and the need for sustainable practices. To better understand this evolution, this study aims to explore how a systematic mapping of entrepreneurial practices inside arts and crafts vocational education can expand our thinking to support young entrepreneurship.
In doing so, we position the research for this report within MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project exploring how the arts, crafts and design sectors can respond more accurately to new emerging social needs and changes.
Within MOSAIC, the topic is introduced from different angles: social business models, digital and social entrepreneurship, digital revolution and sharing / social economy. The main focus is on digitalization (including marketing digital communication and social media) and cooperation / shared economy (including shared spaces, coworking, slow-made, circular economy).
The study is aimed at young entrepreneurs, which are representative for the sector, considering that around 85% of craftspeople in Europe are self-employed.
Findings bring to light three categories of typical characteristics of entrepreneurial arts and crafts practices: strategies and policies (better aligned strategies with topics of sustainability, social inclusion, digitalisation, research and development), context/environment (agile business management, strong networking) and market (reconciling entrepreneurial matters with financial robustness and pace of activity focused on crafts). These characteristics define structured ways to think about the nature and form of best practices that emerge in the area of entrepreneurship in arts and crafts. As these forces continue to drive the development of entrepreneurial vocational education, we are expected to see shifting best practices that can accommodate new visions.
This leads to an expanded conceptualisation of entrepreneurial sustainability, in which social, sustainable and economic factors intersect.
Exploring the dimensions of social inclusion in vocational education in arts and crafts
Arts and crafts provide an important platform for self-expression, which puts them in a privileged position when addressing social inclusion. Inclusive education in arts and crafts allows individuals from all walks of life to engage in creative pursuits, develop their talents, and contribute to the artistic and cultural fabric of society. At the same time, inclusion is also a very subjective topic, rendering it difficult to map inclusive practices within arts and crafts.
In this report we address this challenge by exploring how arts and crafts progress our contemporary understanding of social inclusion through specific initiatives and best practices inside VET education and the industry. In doing so, we adopt an ecosystem perspective that links the macro context (legal), to the micro-perspective provided by actors such as VET centers and craft/design businesses.
We build on the results of MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project exploring how the arts, crafts and design sectors can respond more accurately to new emerging social needs and changes. The core result is a framework for a systematic mapping of dimensions of inclusion in the arts and crafts VET system.
Structured in 4 Chapters, the report shows that while inclusive legislation needs to be fine-tuned to become actionable, the industry is expected to pay increasing attention to different dimensions of social inclusion and VET centers will have to embed social inclusion as a central part of their governance structure, as well as their educational and operational strategy. As this happens, we will probably witness the emergence of practices that not only address diversity of all kinds, but acknowledge the moral, economic, and social reasons to make diversity, inclusion and equality central to VET centers’ work. Therefore, continuity and consistency should be at the core of implementing coordinated individual and collective efforts in this direction.