On this page

1. Synergies between public policies and programmes

2. Partnerships between the culture and creative sectors, youth organisations and youth workers

Synergies between public policies and programmes

There are several apprenticeships available in the arts and cultural sectors. These include:

• The Computer Generated Imagery Technical Artist apprenticeship, awarded at NFQ Level 8/ EQF Level 6 BA. This apprenticeship is a partnership between SOLAS, Technological University Dublin, Screen Skills Ireland, Animation Skillnet and a consortium of industry partners.
• Hairdressing apprenticeship awarded at NFQ Level 6/ EQF Level 5. It is coordinated and delivered by Limerick and Clare ETB, and also delivered in other ETBs throughout the country.
• Stonecutting and Stonemasonry awarded at NFQ Level 6/ EQF Level 5.
• Wood Manufacturing and Finishing apprenticeship awarded at NFQ Level 6/ EQF Level 5.

For further synergies between public policies and programmes, please see the subheading Cross-sectoral cooperation in Chapter 8.2.

Partnerships between the culture and creative sectors, youth organisations and youth workers

The Arts Council is the Irish government agency for developing the arts. It works in partnership with artists, arts organisations, public policy makers and others to build a central place for the arts in Irish life. Its ten-year strategy, Making Great Art Work (2016-2025) states its objective to invest in artists, arts organisations and key programmes dedicated to developing high quality work in arts-in-education and youth arts, and to support the provision of excellent arts experiences for young people in the public domain.

Under the Local Creative Youth Partnerships pilot initiative, three Education and Training Boards (ETBs) establish networks which enable information sharing and collaboration between local creative youth service providers to bring about better use of existing resources, practices and initiatives in an ETB area. Further details about the Local Creative Youth Partnerships are in the subchapter Distribution of responsibilities between top-level and regional/local authorities in Chapter 8.2.

National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) partners with the Arts Council and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in running their Youth Arts Programme. NYCI also published Young People, Creative Action and Social Change: A report on the value of participation in the arts for young people.

The Artist and Youth Work Residency Scheme is designed to promote innovative partnerships between youth groups, artists and (where relevant) arts organisations. A residency may take the form of an artist in residence in a youth work setting and/or a youth group in residence in an arts setting. There are two strands to the Artist and Youth Work Residency Scheme.

Strand One – Youth Arts Explorer Grant is for projects, services and organisations that are beginning to explore introducing youth arts experiences to their youth work setting but are not yet sufficiently experienced/confident to develop or manage a larger scale residency project. The aim of the grant is to support an organisation to explore the introduction of arts practice to the youth service through a flexible approach. Potential activities could include to test an idea or concept, host introductory sessions, facilitate exploratory meetings between artist, young people and youth service, or connect the group to a local arts centre, cultural venue, etc. for a performance, workshop, or exhibition. The grant is worth €1,500.

Strand Two - Artist and Youth Work Residency Grant aims to promote innovative partnerships between youth groups, artists and (where relevant) arts organisations. A residency may take the form of an artist in residence in a youth work setting and/or a youth group in residence in an arts setting. This grant is intended to support residency programmes that have been jointly developed by the partners involved (i.e. the artist, youth group and any other key partner organisation) and that fully meet the criteria for the award. The grant is worth €5,000.

Arts Council schemes and initiatives run in conjunction with external agents, including:

• The Children's Laureate (Laureate na nÓg)
• Local Authorities, through the Artist in Schools Scheme
• Poetry Ireland, through the Writers in Schools Scheme
• National Youth Council of Ireland, through the Artist and Youth Work Residency Scheme and the Youth Arts Development Award
• Music Network, through the Music Capital Scheme
• Create, through the Artist in the Community Scheme