PONICS VET: Hydroponics Technician is an Erasmus + project, focusing mainly on agriculture communities and future growers from outside the industry, which are the main target group. The project aims to provide elemental training and introduction into practice and technology that is currently not available to a wider audience. Hydroponic growing is essential for the future of agriculture as it provides a resource-efficient resilient grow system that provides income and value to the farming operation.
The PONICS VET training is to create an innovative professional profile, the hydroponics technician, and to deliver basic training for such a profile. The course will introduce System definitions, various technical and practices, 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 all European Member States and beyond.
As the development of workforce pathways for the industry has become a critical demand, FTS was selected as a partner in the ongoing PONICS VET project and intends to build up.