Innovative Quality Mentoring program for development of a Blue Competence Framework in fin-fish production Erasmus Project

Project Title

Innovative Quality Mentoring program for development of a Blue Competence Framework in fin-fish production

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; Pedagogy and didactics; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship)

Project Summary

BACKGROUND
To realise the ambitious growth targets set by each major fish producing country in northern Europe will require a flexible and mobile workforce with the skills and knowledge to implement the new production methods and technologies deployed by the leading multinational fish producing and supplying companies. This growth in fish production must be achieved efficiently, alongside high standards of fish welfare and the mitigation of environmental impact. This necessitates an upgrading of workforce skills and qualifications through the deployment of more innovative and accessible work-based learning systems that can fully motivate and support staff development and the attainment of nationally recognised qualifications that are respected by industry.

NUMBER AND PROFILES OF PARTICIPANTS
Whilst there are some effective VET systems to support youth development, most notably in Norway, mature entrants are not so well served. They currently lack structured in-company mentor support during work based training activites and practice, including support from mentors during learning and implementation of theory at farms that may be located far away from the VET schools. At the same time too many staff with strong practical skills face learning and writing diabillities, while other experience challenges related to the young school leavers. In some countries like Iceland, once in employment, formal VET pathways leading to the completion of a National Qualifications (NQs) in fin-fish aquaculture are hard to access or not well supported. Approximately 45% of the workfoce (eqivalent to 200 staff in one company) lacks NQ in Norway. Therefore, most of the workforce remains un-qualified and highly dependent on inhouse training (non-formal VET) provided by the companies themselves.

OBJECTIVES
The ultimate goal is to develop a new mentoring supported work based learning process within fin-fish aquaculture VET that improves the conditions for learning theory for husbandry staff with strong practical skills, but which at the same time are challenged with learning and writing diabillities or has experienced to be a school leaver. It enables individual’s informal competences and skills to become recognised and accepted, within fin-fish aquaculture NQ, and built on through individualised and group learning supported processes.

ACTIVITIES
This partnership will develop and pilote a system for the delivery of innovative ‘individualised’ work-based learning practices suported by in-company mentors. The pre-requisite processes recognising prior learning and flexible learning resources will be aligned to a shared framework of industry endorsed learning outcomes. The continuous assessment of practical competence at the workplace will involve employers and inform NQ assessment results that are understood by the main fish producing companies in northern Europe. Consequently, work-based VET pathways and qualifications will gain parity of esteem and learner mobility will be promoted, aided by European tools, including EQF and ECVET. The northern European industry’s aim of promoting knowledge exchange between the main fish producing countries and collective problem solving will be synergised by the shared learning system.

METHODS
There is a gap between the ambitions of the industry, and the current training methods which do not take into account how many staff that are champions in problem solving, while they at the same time avoid and fears the required theoretical training. This will be resolved by developing
– a common framework of learning outcomes for north European fin-fish cage farming developed through a formalized fin-fish aquaculture VET provider network
– new work-based learning and assessment delivery systems and resources that increase capacity for mentoring, farm-based skills instruction and contribute to a quality assured assessment and formal VET delivery system, supported by their VET provider.
– national work-based learning delivery partnerships and support teams that will update aquaculture VET resources, shared by the VET provider network, and their industry associated partners.
– piloting the delivery of aquaculture NQs to work-based learners utilising shared resources and evaluating the learners’ experiences, to inform the development of improved mentoring supported VET learning systems.

RESULTS
BlueMentor will help improving the aquaculture VET system for staff working in farming industry. The new in-company mentoring system will target this area, thus offering a system solution with standarized and harmonized methods for support during the theoretical training phases and in particular the work based training to be organized at farms that may be located in remotly geographical areas.

IMPACT
The overall mission is to improve the accessibility and quality of work-based learning and start prepareíng for ‘harmonisation” of industry endorsed NQ, hereby promoting learner and skilled labour mobility.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 352202 Eur

Project Coordinator

Guri Kunna Videregående Skole & Country: NO

Project Partners

• PISCES LEARNING INNOVATIONS LIMITED
• Fisktækniskóli Íslands
• Fræðslumiðstöð Vestfjarða
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU