Quality standards offer new opportunities to SHINE [10.10.11]

Shine – an event to launch of new training methodologies and materials and a series of showcases by our trainees.

Venue: Interchange Studios, Hampstead Town Hall Centre, 213 Haverstock Hill, London NW3 4QP

Time: 3:45pm to 5:45pm – speeches at 5:00 pm – RSVP to duncan@sones.info or 020 3062 4726

Two of the most respected arts development agencies in London are coming together to share their new training resources targeted at practitioners and organisations using creative approaches to delivering informal learning.  For a brief animated intro to the euro-aspire framework and toolkit, click here

Manoj Ambasna, Chief Executive of Collage Arts, said:

“Our two programmes dovetail to give arts organisations a quality assurance framework and learning outcomes that can be validated and which are especially suited to reengage disaffected and disengaged young people.”

Why is this important?  There are new opportunities opening up for the delivery of education and learning.   However, community arts and cultural enterprise agencies are not necessary convincing commissioners that the opportunities they provide can deliver validated outputs or that the work get disaffected learners back into meaningful work.  So these toolkits and our research findings aim to support the sector in making the case to open up or safeguard contracts and funding for using creative approaches to reengage young people.

Manoj continued:

“Between us WAC and Collage Arts have nearly 60 years experience of working providing learning opportunities for young people.  We have drawn on this expertise to create a toolkit for using the arts to deliver transferable skills.  But in the sister project EURO Aspire we have created a framework which looks at the skill levels of trainers as they progress through their careers.  This work pushes the informal learning sector towards new levels of professionalism which we hope will make us attractive to new funders.

The recent riots and the successive failure to make headway with the 10% of young people not in education, employment or training – mean that new approaches are needed to engage young people in learning and give them the foundations for their future careers.”

Celia Greenwood, Chief Executive of WAC Performing Arts and Media College, said:

“WAC Performing Arts and Media College and Collage Arts have been very successful in developing artists and alumni include Dappy, Miss Dynamite, Che Walker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Labrinth.  Additionally many hundreds of young people have gone on to work in the arts sector in some capacity. But many more have used the skills they have developed at WAC and Collage to make themselves employable.”

Despite the economic situation, WAC and Collage are recruiting 310 trainees for their upcoming programmes.

Celia continued:

“it is essential that we can continue to use the skills we have to help make young people employable and fulfilled in their lives.  I am immensely proud of our record and that we already have 310 quality training opportunities for young people – who, provided they work hard, will leave us with the skills that will help them build their careers.  However we have the capacity to work with so many more young people and to do so in a way which is very cost effective.  We will be seeking further funding and developing new partnerships to continue to expand our training offer to young people.”

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