Opening access to and raising adult participation in quality lifelong learning programmes lies at the heart of current EU education and training, as well as economic growth and social cohesion policies. Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET) is relevant to key objectives set in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy and the EU Social Investment Package for Growth and Cohesion, while is crucial to reaching the target of 15% average participation by adults (age 25-64) in lifelong learning by 2020.
The fisheries sector is recognized as one of the pillars of development and is set as a cornerstone of the EU Blue Growth Strategy and the Integrated Maritime Policy. The extent of its contribution to sustainable development, economic growth and food security, however, highly depends on the knowledge, skills and competences of fishers.
Within this framework and based on identified needs, the SeaofSkills project, funded through the Erasmus+ Programme, is working on developing a CVET material for small-scale fishers. Training needs will be characterised through field surveys being conducted in Chios (Greece), Çeşme (Turkey) and Malta. Accordingly, the material produced will be pilot-tested and evaluated by fishers in the 3 target areas. Special attention is being paid to the integration of existing regulations and recommendations regarding the fisheries and CVET sectors at the international level (IMO, OECD), at the european level (DG Education and Culture, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and at the national level (national accreditation systems, etc.).
Project training outputs will be communicated to fishers during project multiplier events. A learning outcomes approach will be adopted within the project, so as to operate within the provisions of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and permit the future recognition and accreditation of the generated material. A policy recommendation on CVET for small-scale fishers will also be developed within the project.