The ESSENCE project, co-funded by the ERASMUS+ program of the European Union and chaired by VDT, is working towards a common European qualification and certification for live sound operators at EQF level 5 (one above the German "Fachkraft für Veranstaltungstechnik"). We have collected a compendium of existing qualifications in this area, and conducted a survey among industry professionals and other stakeholders of what features are most desired in such a program.

Based on the lessons learned, we are now designing a joint curriculum that is intended to meet the needs of the labor markets throughout Europe, and can be implemented in the very heterogeneous vocational training systems of the EU members. In case you have heard about the IGVW's new qualification "SQQ7 sound specialist", it will contribute to the project and our hope is for SQQ7 version 2 to be an implementation of the upcoming European Sound Specialist.

We are going to present the current state of our project, which will wrap in early 2024, and look forward to your comments and opinions. You can also meet us at the Partner Area for one-on-one talks. ESSENCE is an ERASMUS+ partnership of OETHG and its academy in Austria, RITCS and STEPP in Belgium, VDT, EurAka and IGVW in Germany, and VPT and OSAT in the Netherlands.