Discover the project results of the CHARTER European Skills Alliance for Cultural Heritage

Discover the project results of the CHARTER European Skills Alliance for Cultural Heritage

 After four years of collaboration under the CHARTER project, in which ERRIN has spearheaded together with Gothenburg University efforts to explore place-based cultural heritage ecosystems across the Basque Country, Sibiu County, Bremen, Alentejo, Tuscany and Västra Göteland, the CHARTER project has come to an end.

At the CHARTER final conference in Barcelona, ERRIN's Astrid Hannes showcased how regions are leveraging CHARTER's outcomes to boost investments in upskilling and reskilling, futureproofing the cultural heritage workforce. ERRIN calls on regional ecosystems across Europe to mobilise their stakeholders and join the CHARTER Alliance to strengthen skills governance and development.

Key learnings for regions:

  • Public-private skills partnerships: Regions are pioneering collaborations between heritage professionals, academia, VET providers and sectors like tourism, construction and urban planning.
  • Embedding skills development in regional policies: Aligning regional policies (e.g., S3) with skills development and adopting a whole-of-government approach is essential for unlocking the heritage sector's economical and societal potential.
  • Investing in skills intelligence: Better data is critical for evidence-based Education & Training policies – regional authorities must strengthen their data capabilities.
  • Interregional collaboration: Joining forces creates a clearer picture of skills gaps and opportunities while advancing interoperability for a European Skills Observatory for Cultural Heritage. Financial support remains vital.
  • Innovating the Education & Training offer: E&T providers must modernise programs to address emerging topics like sustainability and digitalisation in heritage topics, while investing in safeguarding traditional crafts and skills at risk.
  • Policy alignment across all governance levels is critical for ensuring that often very ambitious national heritage strategies can be effectively implemented by the work force at local and regional level.

CHARTER's recommendations and reports 

CHARTER tools 

Discover all the CHARTER project results here.

What's next?

The Europe-wide CHARTER Alliance will be launched early 2025. Looking ahead to 2025, ERRIN will build upon the CHARTER legacy and explore the establishment of an Interregional Skills Partnership for Cultural Heritage under the EU Pact. You will discover more in the 2025 Annual work plan of ERRIN's Culture and Creativity Cluster which will be published in January 2025. 

About CHARTER

CHARTER brings together and represents the whole range of the European cultural heritage sector. The 47 project partners strive to make cultural heritage's value apparent and create a resilient and responsive sector. ERRIN and six of its members pioneered this first sectoral skills blueprint project under Erasmus+ that included regions from the start and took a solid regional focus when investigating the skills demands and supply in the sector.