A large proportion of those in the EU who worked in the cultural and creative sector pre-pandemic were young people. This means a whole generation of young and promising creative entrepreneurs have had their careers and prospects indefinitely delayed or taken away forever. It is also true that most people working in the sector, especially in arts and crafts are self-employed. Covid has left young creatives in a most precarious position, it will be years (if at all) for many of these creative businesses to return to pre-pandemic levels of employment and revenue.
The EU Green Deal has made the circular economy a central component of its aim to half emissions in the next decade and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, towards for a shift for greener and more sustainable economic activity. The focus towards circular and sustainable business means most creative entrepreneurs will return to a vastly different environment when their business is back up and running. Despite our different VET specialisations and locations, partners share a common need to introduce new climate smart training which will future proof the creative sector. By working together, we will reach a quicker roll out of this new teaching with more authenticity and flexibility. The ECCE resources as a complete professional training package are robust enough to yield different results across the different countries of each partner, making them adaptable to their needs and the needs of creative entrepreneurs and VET organisations all over Europe.