The aim of this study is to identify the needs (skills and competencies) in terms of human resources for work in the cultural field in the Arab region, which includes public institutions and civil society organizations, and to provide a basic understanding of the cultural industry needs in the private sector.

The conclusions and recommendations of this study will be utilized to advocate for the need of skills development in the region, through higher education structures, training centers, and capacity building programs on regional and international level.

This study will also support the development of young professionals in the cultural field by helping them to make decisions regarding their future career paths and improving their employability. Another objective is to identify the necessary profiles for the different sectors to empower their capacities playing their cultural, social and economic role.

The main effort in this study is to collect information on the different professional profiles and skills that are greatly needed to work in the regional cultural sector, and to evaluate the existing paths to skills building, both conventional methods such as higher education programs, accessibility to literature related to the topic, and specialized training courses, and also less conventional or formal ways of accumulating experience and skills such as learning on the job, unofficial mentorship, cross-generational and cross-border sharing of experience, and so on.