Euro-Aspire will develop an innovative European competency framework for trainers using creative expression in informal and non-formal learning environments. The project will investigate how informal / non-formal learning – through the performing and visual arts, media, production and design – provide a bridge from educational and economic exclusion to inclusion, new learning and employment in the European creative / cultural industries. Discussions to date between partners of Euro-Aspire highlight excellent scope for increased impact by transferring & building on best practice in this field. Several aspects of creative informal and non-formal learning have promoted enterprise and innovation within the arts / creative industries. However, it is not easy to measure learning through formal education processes in these industries. Organisations in this sector currently provide structured learning in a non-formal setting, some of which is externally validated – but much of it is not. The project will explore these factors to develop a common European solution to recognise competences and qualifications gained through informal and non-formal settings, to provide a framework that can be used throughout Europe. The core outputs/results will be: • Research studies into the characteristics of learning and training programmes in the creative / cultural sector, which motivate learners who are excluded or disinterested in formal learning pathways; • Methodologies identified and published, for creative pathways from informal and non-formal learning to accredited learning and formal education; • Action learning network of managers / trainers working in the sector to identify common competences; • Identification of validation methodologies from creative industry employers. The project will allow us to validate the skills of trainers in Europe’s informal and non-formal learning sector in the creative in industries, better supporting previously disengaged learners.