Future Skills & Sustainable Development in the Green Salon Erasmus Project

Project Title

Future Skills & Sustainable Development in the Green Salon

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Health and wellbeing; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

This project tried to transfer the ideas and knowledge on sustainability through information, education and training to students, schools, employers, employees and other stakeholders in the Hair and Beauty sector to provide insight into sustainability: Health & Safety, environment, equipment and entrepreneur skills.

The hairdressing sector in Europe employs more than one million people across 400.000 hairdressing salons, receiving 350 million potential customers. The H&B often has more affinity with knowledge about their profession than with other aspects of the business. Attention to labour, health & safety, environment, marketing, service and services are crucial for successful entrepreneurship.

The aim of this project was to develop innovative ways of learning about sustainability and to promote sustainability in schools and companies in the sector.
The educational products we have generated, which are matching the goals, includes workshops on sustainability and innovation, teaching materials for schools and extracurricular education about sustainability in the ‘green’ salon (3 learning modules, on sustainability and entrepreneurial skills), a study of sustainability in the sector in Europe, a diagnostic scan for businesses and schools, a roadmap for introducing sustainability in the salon, a physical sustainability game for use in schools, companies and other educational purposes, an internet awareness game about sustainability, a scan on strategy, a final sector conference and student participation, with the aim of developing a magazine on sustainability in the H&B sector and a demo of sustainable hair creations.
We also communicated on the results through a brochure, articles and press releases, meetings with stakeholders: social partners, educational institutes etc., a project website and the final conference in Amsterdam. By informing students, teachers and policy makers, we wanted 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 were organized with students, workers and employers in the partner countries. Several classes with students and teachers are actively involved in the activities in each country. Through this project we want to demonstrate that -in Europe- we need to act sustainably in the sector in a striking way.

We gathered facts through research on sustainable developments in the participating countries, aspects of management systems with a focus on health & safety and environment, the desired situation in a sustainable salon (possible core of a simple certification system), competences needed to reach this situation and research on a diagnostic scan to map the current situation on sustainability in a school or salon. The outcomes of the research were discussed with experts and the results were input for developing the scan, the internet awareness game, the learning material in 3 modules and a final sector conference with student participation along the project. Using the competences of the different partners, their network, the experts, entrepreneurs in the sector and the teachers and students in the conferences and at home in the schools, we combined knowledge and perseverance to finalize the task in a good way.

Long term benefits

The effect of working sustainable in a ‘Green salon’ bottom line, is reducing risks and having more pleasure and satisfaction on the work spot. Sustainability creates less problems with health & safety, less environmental damage, less waste and a better and healthier use of materials and resources, a more controlled use of energy and water, more sustainable choices in investing in equipment and a higher level of customer experience and employee satisfaction. This all has to be managed by an entrepreneur or self-employed H&B specialist with the right skills. Through the project we have created awareness on the risks on the health & safety and the environmental issues. In the contacts with other schools, Coiffure.eu (the international hairdressers association), the social dialog between social partners and the EU, regional entrepreneurs (organizations) the outputs have been spread. A more sustainable way of working in the salons can have a good start with education and training in regular VET and non-formal education accessible to people who are already working in the sector. Also the partners have contacted entrepreneurs and suppliers with the developed information.

Partners

ES-El Palo – Malaga, VET school: Hair & Beauty
DK-Aarhus Tech, VET school: hairdressing department
FR-IGS Lyon, VET & HE school: experienced in development of ICT games and entrepreneurial tools
UK- Bridgewater College, VET school: hairdressing department
NL- ROC Amsterdam, VET school: hairdressing department
NL-Stivako – VET school: entrepreneurial skills and sustainability in the creative industry

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 348551,32 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stichting Stivako & Country: NL

Project Partners

• STICHTING REGIONAAL OPLEIDINGENCENTRUM VAN AMSTERDAM
• BRIDGWATER AND TAUNTON COLLEGE
• AARHUS TECH
• Institut de gestion sociale
• Instituto de Educación Secundaria El Palo