WP2: Education and Training – A Survey
WP3: Minimum Common Standards Definition
In October 2005 the Leonardo da Vinci funding programme has granted funds for a new pilot project which brings together four European countries to work towards the creation of standards in conservation education across Europe. The new project bears the title "Defining common standards for vocational training in cultural heritage conservation skills. Developing an ECPL – European Conservation Practitioner’s License" and is better known by its acronym - ECPL.
Between 2005 and 2007, five European partners – Istituto Palazzo Spinelli (Italy), Fondazione Kepha (Italy), Technological Educational Institute (Greece), Ecole d’Avignon (France) and Heritage Malta (Malta) - will set out to build on the concept of creating one internationally recognized accreditation in conservation. This notion was first introduced by the popular ECDL (European Computer Driving License) certification, which over the past years has become THE standard in gauging the IT skills of an individual. Just like its IT counterpart, once established, the ECPL license will allow its holder to instantly and accurately illustrate his/her level of competence in the cultural heritage sector.
The license will allow conservation institutes, museums and cultural institutions to eliminate the current confusion created by the need to check the equivalence of qualifications coming from different countries before admitting a student to a course, or employing a person. As a result, it will help promote and facilitate mobility for professionals and students alike across Europe thus providing greater employment and training opportunities. Through its various activities, the ECPL project aims to create a benchmark in a sector of Vocational Education and Training (VET) which, at the moment, is extremely fragmented and regionalized.
The project has three main objectives. The first objective is to survey the current provision of VET in the field. The result of the survey, along with the research done by professional educational institutions, will then be used to define Minimum Common Standards of Competence in 12 areas of study/materials across five levels - ranging from Operator and Skilled Craftsman to Conservation Professional - in order to create a benchmark which will allow users to assess the level of qualifications/skills of a conservation practitioner. These standards of competence will then help create model curricula at each level for three of the chosen materials. Finally, a feasible plan for the creation and legal establishment of a Consortium or Foundation to review, validate and administer a common European Conservation Practitioner's License (based on the Minimum Common Standards defined) will be created.
| WP2: Education and Training – A Survey |
| WP3: Minimum Common Standards Definition |
| WP4: The ECPL Foundation |
