Training makes good professionals

Topic(s) addressed

• Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
• Labour market issues incl. career guidance/youth unemployment
• Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) - basic skills

Target groups

Students in the field of: 

• Farming Technician 
• Horticulture Technician 
• Agricultural Management

Methodologies

• Project-based learning- Under the supervision of professionals.
• Combining cooperative learning, flipped classroom and problem-based learning by working in groups. 
• Facilitating daily meetings to discuss and evaluate the day, and plan the activities and measures they would take the next day.

Environments

• The students had the opportunity to face a real-life work environment. The workplace became a classroom and the supervisors– teachers.
• The cultural program included in the project encouraged the students' curiosity about their surroundings and raised their awareness of lifelong learning.
• The project has a long-term goal to support the modernization of education and training systems in the agrarian sector and increase the cooperation between the school and the businesses, so the students can be trained to fit the needs of the sector.

Teachers

• The accompanying teachers were the main contributors to the development of the project idea and its implementation. They also monitored and evaluated the students' overall performance
• The teaching experience of the participants has been improved and the new teaching approaches and methodologies will be implemented in their daily practice. 
• The knowledge was disseminated through presentation sessions and collaboration so the other teachers of the school could benefit from the project results.
• The school's entire staff became more interested in participating in EU projects in the future. 

Impact

• Students became more interested and involved in the learning process. 
• Their overall self-esteem was noticeably boosted.  
• Other students were motivated to participate in future projects. 
• The schools' visibility and attractiveness increased on a national level. 
• The project contributed to linking vocational education with businesses and to the transfer of internationally gained experience and good practices in the organization of practical training.
• It also sparked interest in training and a desire to use cutting-edge technology in practical training.
• It was a life-changing experience for everyone, especially participants from secluded rural areas, with low economic status and those belonging to minority groups.