The core concept of the PONICS project is to build up an innovative professional profile, the hydroponics technician. It responds to the increase in employment demand, new job opportunities for young people and solutions for targeting the Green Economy request for more sustainable professionalisms and export competences at transnational level.
Main purpose is to build up a training course for such a profile, making it replicable at European level, thanks to the application of the system ECVET, the European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training, for a transnational scope. Project outcomes are strongly funded on the ECVET system and it will be developed throughout transparency of qualification, accumulation process and transfer process.
Expected results at the end of the project are:
– arising competencies in vocational training, helping to enhance food production as well as create employment for EU rural and semi-urban farmers;
– enhancing access to training and qualifications for all, with a particular attention to the low-skilled, through continuing VET, notably by increasing accessibility of continuing VET, validation of non-formal and informal learning, promoting work-place learning, providing for efficient and integrated guidance services and flexible and permeable learning pathways;
– transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications: ECVET for Hydroponics technician will facilitate employability and mobility;
– intervening in the sustainable lifestyle achieving the goals of training responsible citizens for Europe 2020;
– allowing farmers to be trained on topics such as innovative and economically, socially and environmentally sustainable
The consortium, working on the project, is comprised of 6 partners from 5 European countries: Latvia, Italy, Greece, Germany and Bulgaria.
Leading Partner: Latvia University of Life Sciences (LV)
Partners:
- Eurocrea Merchant (IT)
- IDEC (GR)
- BIC Innobridge (BG)
- Association for Vertical Farming (DE)
- Zemnieku saeima (LV)
Project duration: 24 months
Project start date: 1 November 2017