Working life studies and services for the independent arts sector

Uniarts Helsinki will offer studies and guidance to promote the working life skills of professionals in the independent arts sector free of charge in 2023–2025.

About the project

The “Sustainable future for the cultural sector – Study and service module for continuous learning” project develops and organises studies and guidance to promote the working life skills of professionals in the independent cultural sector, in particular, starting from autumn 2023. The goal of the new study and service module is to improve independent arts professionals’ ability to develop their operational environment in a sustainable way. All studies and services in the module are free of charge for the participants.

The funder of the project is the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment. The Service Centre promotes the competence development of working-age people and the availability of skilled labour. Its operations are steered by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland.

Content and objective of the studies

Working life training for arts professionals

In autumn 2023, the Open Campus of the University of the Arts will pilot the Career+ service, which supports the development of career skills through career self-assessment and personal guidance meetings. The course will also include work-life coaching tailored to the wishes and needs of the group.

The course is designed for independent arts sector professionals who have a university degree in the arts and/or have at least 5 years of full-time work experience in the arts. Read more about Career+ service here.

Peer learning group for independent arts professionals

In this project, we are piloting a peer learning group for independent arts professionals as part of the spring 2024 working life courses at the open university. In this group, participants can confidentially share aspects related to their work and development with other professionals in the independent arts field. The group’s activities will be tailored to the preferences of its members. If necessary, we will form multiple groups.

The group will operate and meet independently after the introductory meeting organized by Uniarts on 6 February 2024 from 3-4 PM (EET) via Zoom. Registration for the group will be available in connection with the open university enrollment period from 21 November to 7 December 2023.

Other free working life studies

The project arranges a wide range of free working life studies, including a study unit on sustainable leadership and project management for independent art professionals, self-study online courses on copyrights and verbalization of artist’s creative skills and competence, as well as an introductory course to international agency work in the field of arts.

Register for courses

The course selection for the summer 2024 will be published on 19 March 2024 at 3:00 PM. The application period starts 3 April 2024 at 9:00 AM and ends 19 April 2024 at 11:59 PM.

Career readiness self-assessment

Kudin.fi is a self-assessment tool designed to support you in your career planning and study path. Career planning and the determination of the direction in which you want to take your education and career involve diverse cognitive, psychological and social processes. This self-assessment assists you in identifying your own career skills with the help of three questionnaires: Career readiness test, My strengths during change, as well as Career choices and decision-making.

The tool will be tested in the Career+ service with continuous learners in the open field. Kudin.fi has been developed in the framework of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s key project “The Work-integrated Pedagogy in Higher Education project (WORKPEDA)” (2018-2020). The tool is freely available to students and staff of the University of the Arts.

Meetings of Arts and Cultural Sector Organizations

Since the fall of 2022, Uniarts Open campus has organized meetings for organizations with the aim of strengthening the collaboration between Uniarts and organizations operating in the arts and cultural sectors. These meetings also provide a platform to collectively discuss the ongoing and work-oriented learning development needs and future directions of these fields.

The need for strengthening collaboration between organizations was identified in the research conducted for the Uniarts Reconstruction program. The findings of this study highlighted the necessity for cross-sector collaboration and strengthening mutual dialogue in the arts and cultural sector. Additionally, the research pointed out a particular need in the arts sector for the development of societal and working life skills, as well as the ability to envision a sustainable future and contribute to building the desired future.

So far, three such meetings have been organized. In the future, the plan is to hold these meetings twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

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Blog

Project name

Sustainable future for the cultural sector – Study and service module for continuous learning

Time

06/2022-06/2025

Funder

The Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment

Team

  • Satu Tuittila, lecturer in career skills
  • Riitta Huttunen, lecturer in career skills
  • Anu Falck, project manager
  • Emilia Forss, planning officer

Contact

  • Anu Falck

    Project Manager, Services Open Campus, University of the Arts Helsinki
    +358503437194
    anu.falck@uniarts.fi
  • Emilia Forss

    Coordinator, Services Open Campus, University of the Arts Helsinki
    +358504651393
    emilia.forss@uniarts.fi

Find out more

Board members:

  • Vilja Byström, Trade Union for Art and Culture Professionals TAKU
  • Jaakko Kämäräinen, The Musicians’ Union
  • Eva-Maria Hakola, Arts Promotion Centre Finland
  • Sade Kahra, Uniarts Academy of Fine Arts
  • Anu Lampela, Uniarts Open Campus
  • Satu Tuittila, Uniarts Open Campus
  • Riitta Huttunen, Uniarts Open Campus
  • Anu Falck, Uniarts Open Campus
  • Emilia Forss, Uniarts Open Campus