Inspection of cages

Inspection of a cage ring

The establishment of the European Aquaculture Skills Foresight Forum will provide the stable foundations required and a mechanism for industry involvement, influence and leadership, to inform ‘down-stream’ collaborative VET developments. It will also notify VET providers and their partners of current and anticipated aquaculture problems and indicate companies receptive to developing solutions, thereby helping the selection and prioritization of local business innovation support activities.

Project partners will form the core membership, including a representative from each aquaculture company, SME representatives and VET providers, to ensure a strong linkage between the forum, remit and innovative VET development They will be joined and supported by a technology supply companies.

Bridges will be the first attempt to establish transnational cooperation to address European aquaculture workforce development challenges and develop the VET sectors’ role within innovation. The creation of the Aquaculture Skills Foresight Forum will catalyze transnational cooperation, which will in time extend to southern Europe. The smaller farm companies will be represented by the appropriate producer organizations, for salmonid (salmon family) fish production, to ensure SME producers are heard.

Assisted by the forum and their networks, VET providers will be able to design and promote opportunities for mobility within their VET programs. In addition, VET providers will lead the development of digital resources to be unitized and correlated to the learning outcomes and deployed within each country. Using dedicated ‘on-line’ VET provider forums will maintain the momentum between face-to-face meetings.