Aquaculture is forecasted to grow in the years to come (FAO 2014) and be a central part of the ever increasing need for food. A more effecient way of farming in the aquaculture industry is essential if we are to achieve the goals set by the European Union (EU) for water based food production. Aquaculture students and teachers therefore need updated knowledge about RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture Systems), so this can become a more integrated part at both Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher education levels in the schools/universities.There is a need to further develop partnerships between education and industry to ensure that the students are updated about the possibilities for and challenges related to industrial growth based on a sustainable use of available water resources. This will, among other things, mean to create arenas for the exchange of knowledge and a renewal of some of the teaching methods. RAS is foreseen to be a central part of the aquaculture industry in the coming years. There is therefore a demand for a competence building in the educational institutes across Europe on RAS technology. This project will focus on RAS as a technology for the aquaculture industry, for present aquaculture species as well as possible new species. The partner countries have different traditions of how to use RAS, and we believe we have something to learn from each other. The introduction of ‘new’ species for farming and how this is managed is an exciting subject, as this varies in the regions represented in the project.The target groups for the project will be:1) teachers and instructors that perform teaching and training in subjects covered by the project;2) staff in businesses working with RAS;3) students in partner schools (indirectly as they will benefit from the project results and not directly be involved in the project activities).The Partnership is composed of universities, aquaculture organisations, upper secondary schools and businesses. The businesses will play a key role in making the content of the project more relevant and concrete. The Partnership is based on the idea of an increased cooperation between education and the aquaculture business world. At the same time we want to create links between VET and higher education institutes. The aim is to increase the awareness of, and knowledge about, aquaculture as a basis for a sustainable way of food production among students and teachers/instructors as a red thread through life-long learning. The upper secondary schools offers aquaculture as subjects for their students, and the university partners are involved with several aquaculture research projects, and at the same time they educate students at higher education level. The industry partners are experts in the field of RAS and have broad national and international networks. Some partners offer courses for students as well as the public, and innovate and develop digital tools and methods for personal follow-up and development.The project activities will focus on different subjects. The objective of LTT-activties is to increase knowledge about RAS, and how this knowledge can be transferred to students. By connecting industrial partners to education institutes we will make sure this is in accordance with the industry demands. The Intellectual Outputs in the project are the development of different kinds of teaching material and a E-learning platform aimed at different educational levels. This is directly linked to the aim of an increased knowledge among young people about RAS as an effective and sustainable way of aquaculture. The Multiplier Events connected to the Intellectual Outputs are open to stakeholders, and the aim is to increase the knowledge about the different aspects of RAS in accordance with national aims for increased aquaculture production and consumption of seafood.The most important result and impact of the project will be an increased knowledge among teachers and instructors about RAS. The development of updated teaching material will be very welcome among both schools and businesses, as this will benefit the further development of the RAS farming. The established partnership and the planned activities and deliverables will create a good foundation for future cooperation between education institutes and the aquaculture industry.At a local/regional level the desired impact will be increased knowledge among the participants about the opportunities in their own region when it comes to RAS. This will benefit municipalities in their management of their areas and resources, especially since young people will obtain this knowledge and experience through education institute. The project will hopefully be a positive marketing feature for the aquaculture industry as a central part of a forward-looking and sustainable part of the bioeconomy.

Aquaculture is estimated to be one of the fastest growing industries in the world and will be even more central in food production in the future. In the future industrial development of Europe, we see an increased focus on a sustainable use of our natural resources. When this is coupled with an ever-increasing need for food production worldwide and a corresponding increase in the amount of high-quality seafood being demanded and consumed, there is a need for improved knowledge to utilise the available marine resources in a sustainable way. Low-trophic and sustainable aquaculture is essential if we are to achieve the goals set by the European Union (EU) and/or each country for food production in (or from) the sea. More and more of this production must come from species that can utilise energy sources such as sunlight and plankton for growth and that do not need additional feed made from species that also can be used directly as human food. There is a common national goal to eat more seafood. Macroalgae as food is quite new or unknown to people in Western Europe, and this project aims to give basic skills on this subject to the students and teachers involved. In addition, it is a project goal to tell and teach the public about macroalgae. Farming of macroalgae is a stated focus area in the partnership countries Norway, Denmark and Ireland, and the ambitions is quite high. A report from SINTEF Ocean (October 2017) estimate the production potential for macroalgae to be 90 000 tons for Trøndelag county (Norway) alone.The 11 partners in this intersectoral two year partnership project have different approaches to macroalgae; teaching and training, natural science, research and development, seedling and farming of macroalgae, processing and distribution of products. This open up for a broad view on new knowledge, and how this can be utilized among the partners and also spread to other stakeholdres. The different approaches is a strenght when it comes to further development of the macroalgae industry, as there is a need for different competences at different levels.Macroalgae is an international industry, with a total production of 30 million tons a year. Asia is the main producer and consumer, and macroalgae is not so common in Europe yet. There is therefore demand for a common understanding across Europe of how macroalgae can be farmed, used in different ways and its environmental impact. To transfer knowledge among students – as future employees, stakeholders and decision makers – across borders is an excellent start for such an understanding. Students (as future employees) and teachers (as knowledge providers) need updated knowledge and competence about low-trophic aquaculture in general and macroalgae in spesific, to make it a more integrated part in the education programmes. At the Transnational project meetings and LTT activities a total of 150 students and teachers/staff will participate. The LTT activities will have focus on different aspects, such as macroalgae as food, the environmental impacts of macroalgae and macroalgae farming. In addition we aim to have at least 125 participants at four different Multiplier events, organized as open seminars with different topics related to macroalgae. At these seminars stakeholders and policy makers will be invited, along with media and the general public. The seminars will be connected to the presentation and launching of the four Intellectual outputs (IO) in the project. The IO will be in different formats, such as a publication on macroalgae and environment, teaching and training material as hands-on (paper), vodcasts and e-learning book, and macroalgae fact sheets in a populist format easy to read and use for educational purposes as well as information for the general public.The impact of this project will be an increased knowledge about macroalgae as low-trophic and sustainable aquaculture, algae as a sustainable and healthy food resource and the importance in an environmental perspective. The partners / participating organisations will increase their international network and obtain new knowledge which lead to ideas and strategies for the implementation of new teaching and training methods, as well as establishment of collaborative constellations and new partnership/projects. Through dissemination activities and Multiplier Events the project will reach the relevant audience for the Intellectual Outputs from the project and meet stakeholders that have, or develop, an interest in the topics covered by the project. Information about the project in general will be available on the partners’ websites and the project Facebook page, including the Intellectual Outputs produced. The project results will be made available on request. In addition to the project partners, schools in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland will get access to the project results and be able to use them for free in their organisations.

"BACKGROUNDTo 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 PARTICIPANTSWhilst 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.OBJECTIVESThe 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.ACTIVITIESThis 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.METHODSThere 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.RESULTSBlueMentor 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. IMPACTThe 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."