Enhancing vocational training in agriculture to promote sustainable practices and empower future professionals through the establishment of Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). This initiative enables agricultural vocational education and training (agro-VET) to spearhead the transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture.
Context
The core motivation driving EVECSA is rooted in Europe’s commitment to fostering a green transition in agriculture, as outlined in the European Green Deal. To realize these goals, proactive engagement is essential from key stakeholders within agriculture, especially farmers and farm employees, who must implement changes at the farm level. Daily decisions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change, and sustaining agricultural productivity and biodiversity require proficiency in Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), an approach that helps guide actions to transform agri-food systems towards green and climate resilient practices. Vocational Education and Training institutions play a crucial role in providing education and training for farmers across Europe, yet transitioning to green farming poses challenges for both farmers and vocational education and training providers.
EVECSA addresses these challenges by developing and delivering attractive and relevant learning opportunities for CSA, aiming to attract more learners to this field and foster strong cooperation between stakeholders to facilitate the green transition at the farm level in Europe. The project aims to establish new mindsets and models for education, training, and lifelong learning targeted at farmers engaged in CSA.
The EVECSA project aligns with Climate Smart Agriculture objectives, including sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes, adapting and building resilience to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Through collaboration among 22 partners across six countries, EVECSA will establish six Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) to strengthen the quality, relevance, and attractiveness of vocational learning offers for CSA. These CoVEs will cooperate via an international Platform of Vocational Excellence (PoVE) to deliver the European Vocational Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (EVACSA), shaping education policies and practices that foster sustainable food production, job opportunities, and well-being for all.
The project aims to build strong skills ecosystems through Communities of Practice (CoP), fostering stronger relations and more systematic cooperation among key stakeholders in the agricultural skills ecosystem. By ensuring that agro-VET providers are updated on and work with the newest trends in the sector, EVECSA will empower them to become central participants in Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), ultimately meeting the evolving needs of the agricultural sector.
Objectives
- Develop and offer innovative learning opportunities for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), attracting more learners and promoting cooperation among stakeholders for the green transition in Europe.
- Establish Centers of Professional Excellence (CoVE) in six countries to improve professional learning offerings farmers and farm employees, promoting sustainable agriculture through cooperation via a Platform of Professional Excellence (PoVE).
- Strengthen relationships and cooperation between key stakeholders in the agricultural skills ecosystem through Communities of Practice (CoPs), enabling agro-VET providers to meaningfully contribute to agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS).
- Enabling current and future employees of the European agricultural sector to take climate-friendly actions, in line with the European Green Deal commitment to promote a green transition in agriculture.
- Establish educational policies and practices to promote sustainable food production, employment opportunities and well-being for all stakeholders involved in agriculture, influencing climate-friendly agricultural education policies and practices at both national and transnational levels.
Activities
- Identify the needs and map the recourses within the agri-food skills ecosystem at regional and transnational level as a basis for tackling current and future challenges related to skills supply for a transition to CSA.
- Present an elaborated understanding of skills set required for future professions operating in a CSA sector.
- Provide 36 tested examples of learning activities for CSA (6 for each CoVE), of which 12 include digital elements in mode of delivery or in content (2 for each CoVE).
- Present 6 tested initiatives for sector-based recruitment of Initial and Continuing Vocational Education and Training (IVET/CVET) learners for CSA.
- Present 6 tested examples of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) (1 per CoVE) targeted knowledge transfer and skills development in relation to CSA.
- Offer 6 transnational knowledge transfer events for staff within enterprise partners and sector representative organizations, hosted by agro-VET partners (1 per CoVE).
- Establish European Vocational Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, a community of practise providing a varied world class vocational learning offer on CSA.
Resources
- Overview of needs, resources and competence profiles of relevance for European agro-VET platform for CSA;
- European Vocational Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (EVACSA);
- 36 tested examples of learning activities, 12 digitalized learning resources, for CSA;
- 6 tested models for sector-based recruitment of IVET/CVET learners;
- Online platform.
Impact
- Support the green transition by switching to environmentally friendly agricultural practices and providing targeted education and training opportunities.
- Improve professional education and training by creating Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) learning programs and attract more participants.
- Promoting collaboration between multiple partners across Europe to promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and support the agricultural workforce.
- Building skills ecosystems through Communities of Practice (CoPs), strengthen cooperation between agricultural sector stakeholders, enabling them to address sector challenges effectively.
Partners
- BYGHOLM LANDBRUGSSKOLE (Denmark, coordinator)
- ASMILDKLOSTER LANDBRUGSSKOLE (Denmark)
- JORDBRUGETS UDDANNELSESCENTER ARHUS (Denmark)
- VIDEN DJURS (Denmark)
- FBCD AS (Denmark)
- AARHUS UNIVERSITET (Denmark)
- Departament d’Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural (Spain)
- BOSCAT FUSTA SL (Spain)
- BETA Technological Center (Spain)
- CESIE ENTE DEL TERZO SETTORE (Italy)
- LAND IMPRESA SOCIALE SRL (Italy)
- CONSORZIO REGIONALE PER LA RICERCA APPLICATA E LA SPERIMENTAZIONE (Italy)
- STICHTING AERES GROEP (Netherlands)
- STICHTING AGROFOODCLUSTER (Netherlands)
- STICHTING PLATFORM TALENT VOOR TECHNOLOGIE (Netherlands)
- PROAGRIA KESKI-POHJANMAA RY (Finland)
- KESKI-POHJANMAAN KOULUTUSYHTYMA (Finland)
- SEINAJOEN KOULUTUSKUNTAYHTYMA (Finland)
- LAPLAND UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES (Finland)
- Zespół Szkół Centrum Kształcenia Ustawicznego w Wojsławicach (Poland)
- UNIWERSYTET PRZYRODNICZY WE WROCLAWIU (Poland)
- ENERGIA OZ SP ZOO (Poland)