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ENCATC is proud to present the recommendations recently published by its project partner, CHARTER - The European Cultural Heritage Skills Alliance. These recommendations highlight a strategic path forward for strengthening the heritage sector by addressing critical gaps in education, training, and labour market requirements. The 12 actionable proposals aim to foster sustainability, inclusivity, and innovation, positioning cultural heritage as a powerful driver of social, economic, and environmental progress.

1. Establish skills strategies for the heritage sector for a systemic change
Encourage coordinated skills strategies at the EU, national, and regional levels to align education and labour market demands, ensuring heritage’s role in achieving societal and environmental goals.

2. Counteract the loss of heritage skills
Combat the loss of traditional heritage skills caused by disrupted generational transfers, shrinking markets, and precarious employment. Emphasise their relevance for addressing modern challenges like sustainability and climate resilience. 

3. Complement core heritage skills with transversal skills to foster inter- and trans-disciplinarity
Equip heritage professionals with communication, digital, entrepreneurial, and ethical skills alongside core competencies in preservation and governance to navigate evolving challenges and interdisciplinary roles.

4. Offer future-focused education and training
CHARTER identifies eight pathways for adapting or developing curricula: community engagement, sustainability in built heritage, heritage crafts, new heritage conservation, digital heritage, participatory leadership, heritage policy design, and international relations. These pathways address current and future sector demands.

5. Promote a Lifelong Learning area for the heritage sector
Encourage continuing education (CET) to upskill and reskill professionals in areas like digital content creation, conservation, and management, ensuring flexibility to adapt to emerging needs such as AI and digital outreach.

6. Foster the recognition of non-formal and informal prior learning
Expand recognition of skills gained through non-formal and informal methods, such as on-the-job training and traditional crafts, using tools like micro-credentials and validation processes to improve mobility and career access.

7. Ensure work-based learning for professional development and early-career progression
Enhance access to internships and traineeships by improving coordination, offering fair remuneration, and ensuring better integration into education programs to bridge gaps between training and the workplace.

8. Strengthen quality assurance in heritage education and training
Standardise quality assurance in vocational (VET) and continuing education (CET) to ensure consistent standards across the EU, particularly for work-based learning, which is vital for heritage professionals.

9. Strive towards a viable, diverse heritage workforce
Address workforce precarity by improving job stability, promoting gender equality, and increasing representation of disadvantaged groups to foster diversity and resilience in the heritage sector.

10. Foster professional recognition and facilitate mobility
Harmonise standards and improve recognition of qualifications to support the mobility of heritage professionals across the EU, addressing gaps in tools like ESCO and improving alignment with national frameworks.

11. Develop and use robust socio-economic indicators for evidence-based policies
Improve data collection and monitoring using updated methodologies and taxonomies to ensure reliable statistics that reflect the sector’s dimensions and inform effective policymaking.

12. Develop intersectoral cross-pollination of heritage knowledge
Recognise and enhance heritage’s intersection with other sectors like tourism, sustainability, and urban planning, while improving procurement standards to include heritage-related activities and attract skilled professionals.

To explore these recommendations in greater depth, along with detailed insights into the sector's challenges, proposed solutions, and the broader impact of the CHARTER initiative, we invite you to read the full recommendations document. Each recommendation is supported by specific implementation actions, clearly categorised by the relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the document provides detailed sections tailored for recommendations involving the European Union, Member States and Regional Authorities, Education and Training providers, and Heritage institutions and employers, ensuring a comprehensive and actionable roadmap for the sector.

Dive into the full version to understand how CHARTER is shaping a forward-thinking and sustainable future for the heritage ecosystem.