Arising from skills needs identified by the European Cultural Heritage Organisations Network (ECHONET), the ECHOCAST project will develop a training framework (training standards, training products and an accreditation system) for the improvement of work-related competencies of unskilled and skilled front line staff working in cultural heritage organisations. The project will develop a handbook containing a staff training framework and detachable training modules; a series of international job profiles; a handbook of standards in relation to skills levels, training and appraisal processes; guidelines for institutions on how to implement the training and standards; best practice examples; accreditation processes for the generation of internationally recognised standards (likely to result in an ECHOCAST accreditation service) and a project evaluation report. All will be printed in EN and translated by partners, as required. Dissemination will be via the ECHONET membership comprising primarily cultural heritage organisations. Early phase publicity will take place via the web-portal, through the hosting of local events and via standards channels, to be followed through consultative events and product promotion workshops in each partner country, ending with a series of six national events. The project expects to continue beyond the project lifetime, potentially publishing the developed materials on the Internet.