PONICS VET: Hydroponics Technician is an Erasmus + project.It aims to service agriculture communities and future growers from outside the industry. It provides essential basic training and an introduction into practices and the use of technology in the soilless growing of plants. Hydroponic systems have a proven track record in resource efficiency and resilience in the age of climate change. It also provides an attractive solution for existing farm operations that are not economical anymore and create new income streams for growers and would-be farmers.
The PONICS VET training services an innovative professional profile, the hydroponics technician, and delivers credentials for such a profile in a commercial context. The course will introduce system definitions, various technical insights, and important proficiencies in practical growing, including pest control, food safety, and certification information. Also included are case studies and ample supporting material. The micro-credential rules are drawn from the ECVET (the European credit system for VET) methodology, which will allow recognition of applied learning outcomes in the EU and beyond.
As the development of workforce pathways in times of CoVid19 and for the agriculture, communities has become a critical demand, FTS and its industry based membership was selected as a critical partner in the development and deployment of PONICS VET project. Stay tuned for further modules and languages.
"Workforce development in Agriculture has been underserviced in new and innovative agriculture practices and needs to be the main focus by the industry as well as the policymaker. PONICS VET is a great start for the Controlled Environment Agriculture sector as there are currently no accredited vocational training courses online outside of the NL/BE greenhouse cluster. “
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Project Partners:
Partner 1 Latvia University of Lifesciences and Technology (Lativia)
Partner 2 Eurocrea Merchant Srl (Italy)
Partner 3 IDEC (Greece)
Partner 4 BIC Innobridge (Bulgaria)
Partner 5 FarmTech Society ASBL (Belgium)
Partner 6 zemniekusaeima (Lativa)