Future skills for a better life in Sustainable Salons Erasmus Project

Project Title

Future skills for a better life in Sustainable Salons

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cooperation between educational institutions and business; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

The project “Future skills for a better life in Sustainable Salons”, working title ‘Green Salon 2.0’, tries to transfer the ideas and knowledge on sustainability and environment through information, a simplified standard, education and training to students, schools, salons, employees and other stakeholders in the hair & beauty sector. Besides providing insight into sustainability the project also aims to give an image on the profile of a hairdresser in 2030 from the viewpoint of sustainability, technology and entrepreneurial skills.

Context:
The hairdressing sector in Europe employs more than one million people across 400.000 hairdressing salons, receiving 350 million potential customers. Hairdressing (and barbering) services, together with beauty treatment – the hair & beauty sector as it is called, form the personal services sector. Over the last years the sector has gone through a great deal of changes. The sector often has more affinity with knowledge about their profession than with other aspects of business. Attention to labour, sustainability, environment, health & safety, marketing and services are success factors for the future. A lot of these aspects you could share under the label: sustainability & future oriented skills.

Objectives:
In this project we will combine the sustainable ideas through education and training with innovative ideas within the sector. The educational products we want to generate during the process will include workshops on sustainability and trends, teaching materials for schools and extracurricular education about sustainability in the ‘sustainable’ hair salon. We start with the development of a profile of a hairdresser and its competences (sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship) in 2030; Parallel we will develop a simplified low threshold system on sustainability/environment (label) for schools (salon). Simultaneously we will work on a self-assessment internet tools on competence level and measuring the gap on profile and future competences and the gap of the level towards the sustainability system; specific learning material on sustainability/environment focussed on the sector and awareness tools to use in VET and salons to use in communication with employees and clients on the subjects. Against this background, co-financing of this proposed project by the EU would enable the participating partners to develop knowledge and tools that can easily be implemented by schools and used in salons throughout Europe on an easy accessible level.

What and how:
In the project we gather facts through an inventory of the hairdresser’s competencies in 2030, the desired situation in a sustainable salon focused on environmental aspects (core of a simple standard), competences needed and research on 2 self-assessment tools to map the current situation on: 1. competence level and measuring the gap on profile and future competences and 2. the gap of the level towards the sustainability system on environment and sustainability in schools (salon). The outcomes will be discussed with experts and will be input for the self-assessment tools, the learning material on environment in a sustainable salon and awareness material on sustainability. The 2 multiplier events are planned to share results and to generate commitment and remarks from stakeholders. The project works with a final sector conference with student participation along the project.

Results and impact:
We will communicate through a brochure, articles, press releases, a project website and the final conference in Italy, on the results of the entire project. By informing and searching for interaction with students, teachers and policy makers, we want to take steps towards more sustainability. Vocational education is in close contact with the companies in the local community and can open doors to changes in the industry. Therefore, activities will be organized with students, employees and employers in the partner countries. Students and teachers are actively involved in the activities in each country. To demonstrate through this project, we in Europe need to act sustainably in the sector in a striking way.

Long term:
The effect of working sustainable in a ‘Sustainable or green salon’ bottom line is reducing risks and have more pleasure and satisfaction on the work spot. Sustainability creates less environmental damage, less waste and a better, healthier use of materials and resources, a more controlled use of energy and water, more sustainable choices in investing in equipment, less problems with health & safety and a higher level of customer experience and employee satisfaction. This all has to be managed by a salon owner or self-employed hair & beauty specialist with the right future oriented skills. In this way the salon can, in the long run, be more profitable and competitive. This requires good education and training in regular VET and non-formal education, accessible to people who are already working in the sector.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 387309 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stichting Stivako & Country: NL

Project Partners

• CAMERA ITALIANA DELLA ACCONCIATURA
• Instituto de Educación Secundaria El Palo
• IES Núm. 1 Universidad Laboral
• UBK/UCB vzw-asbl
• Centro Italiano Opere Femminili Salesiane – Formazione Professionale – Lombardia
• Provinciaal Instituut Vlaamse Ardennen
• Stichting Regionaal Opleidingencentrum van Amsterdam-Flevoland