CerOrganic Aims & Objectives

• To contribute to the development of quality lifelong learning and to promote high performance, innovation and a European dimension in systems and practices in the field: CerOrganic ToT incorporates the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF) to increase the quality of OA trainings by creating an innovative example training program in OA and develops the CerOrganic Quality Assurance (QA) process against which other OA trainings can measure their quality. The ToT will be developed in a cooperative, international forum and can therefore take advantage of the diverse European situations and share best practices across borders and into the field.
• To help improve the quality, attractiveness and accessibility of the opportunities for lifelong learning available within member states: CerOrganic focuses on improving the quality (and therefore the attractiveness) of opportunities for lifelong learning of young and / or unemployed agricultural experts, through the certified CerOrganic ToT, and provides a quality assurance framework (CerOrganic QA) for other existing OA training programs to improve their vocational education programs’ quality. Additionally, since all materials will be made available online, they are of greater accessibility than conventional training materials.
• To help promote creativity, competitiveness, employability and the growth of an entrepreneurial spirit: CerOrganic aims to provide young/unemployed agricultural experts with a trade specialization, making these individuals more employable since they will be experts in the production and marketing of OA. It creates opportunities for their mobility, since the trainings will be built upon EQARF. CerOrganic ToT will be designed to empower trainees to become trainers of trainers creating opportunities for further trainings and entrepreneurialism in this way.
• To contribute to increased participation in lifelong learning by people of all ages, including those with special needs and disadvantaged groups, regardless of their socio-economic background: CerOrganic targets young/unemployed agricultural experts (a group with high unemployment rates), farmers who have converted to OA (as potential trainers), and farmers who want to convert to OA. People of low (agricultural experts) and high ages (farmers) and individuals of high (agricultural experts) and low educational levels (farmers) are brought together, empowered, and encouraged to share knowledge and experiences with each other and their future trainees (farmers, in the national trials).
• To support improvements in quality and innovation in vocational education and training systems, institutions and practices: CerOrganic ToT will be an exemplary training in OA following EQARF, the quality certification process (CerOrganic QA) can be applied to other OA training programs, and CerOrganic will work with OA certification bodies and ministries focused on increasing land area in OA in their countries to ensure the adoption and application of these systems (ToT and QA). CerOrgnic ToT can be adapted to local needs and conditions and therefore encourages innovation in vocational education at the national level
• To improve the quality and to increase the volume of cooperation between institutions or organisations providing learning opportunities, enterprises, social partners and other relevant bodies throughout Europe: CerOrganic focuses on developing a training program (ToT) and quality assurance process (QA) that will be accepted by ministries and non-governmental organizations who are responsible for the certification of OA products and production. In this way it will facilitate the development of trainings that are directly applicable and certifications that are transferrable to the private certifying bodies of EU nations.
• To facilitate the development of innovative practices in the field of vocational education and training other than at tertiary level, and their transfer, including from one participating country to others: CerOrganic ToT will be transferable to all the EU nations, since it will be designed to be flexible and representative of the local communities and based upon the international framework for quality, EQUARF. Additionally, since CerOrganic will be designed as an adaptable template, national trainers will be encouraged to adapt the template to meet the cultural needs of their trainees, each time creating an innovative training.
• To improve the transparency and recognition of qualifications and competences, including those acquired through non-formal and informal learning: The study and clear identification of the qualifications and competencies of CerOrganic advisors, in combination with their quality certification through the CerOrganic QA process, aim to improve the transparency and recognition of these competencies on a European level.
• To support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning: The development of the CerOrganic Web portal and its population with digital training resources, described with metadata according to international standards, are expected to further promote the development of ICT-based content and services among the participating user groups for their lifelong learning needs.