Since remote times, the fishery sector has been the social and economic basis of several municipalities of the areas involved in the Mare Nostrum project. Above all, these areas are greatly dependent on fisheries. Nevertheless, for the last fifteen years, the sector has undergone a difficult situation, due to the increasing difficulties to have access both to the own resources and to those of third countries (that is the case of the Moroccan fishing grounds); the decrease in the actual value of the captures as a result of the market liberalisation and internationalisation process; and the lack of transparency in the products commercialisation channels. In order to save the organisation difficulties in the sector, the figure of the Fisheries Development Agent (FDA) has been created in specific zones of the UE. are providing technical, administrative and legal support to professionals and companies in the sector; avoiding imbalance in the application of structural plans and in working opportunities between men and women; contributing to the application of the Fishery Sector Modernisation Plans; optimising the economic resources available in the sector; and promoting improvement of human resources through the training of professionals of the fisheries and aquicolous sector. In that sense, FDA have an important role in the follow-up of the quality in training actions, detection of training lacks, making more approachable the training opportunities in the information society context, access and guide in vocational training and promote the permanent learning, the gender scope and the vocational retraining.
Therefore, regarding the FDA and mainly due to the pioneering character of that figure, in the first action stage, some problems have been detected as a result of the lack of an homogeneous training, because of the shortage of a specific training program for this group of people. This fact has led to under use a highly-skilled human team, without a suitable approach of the sector and vocational needs. This fact has been translated into the following shortages: very little promotion of training; non-detection of training needs; insufficient diffusion and aids procedure; no deep studies on marketing and new markets; lacking promotion of equality of gender. Therefore, since it is a very peculiar sector, in real need of support, the FDA group has tried to adapt to its needs and particularities through the acquisition of new knowledge and experiences, in order to assist and advise the development and modernization processes, design and manage local projects and be a support for the development of the co-operative and social economy sectors, as well as the small and medium enterprises.
As a result of this, the need has arisen to prepare the material which provides the FDA and trainers of the centres for vocational training with an adequate training of the tasks to be developed by them, with the object of supporting the and diversification process of the fisheries sector. That is why the project studies three lines of action. The first one concerns the design of didactic materials which offer trainers the possibility of acquiring a new scope and a didactic methodology according to the needs of the sector. The second one wants to cover the lacks the FDA´s curriculum related to vocational guidance (both in the traditional modality, with a written manual, and with multimedia, a training, self-employment and guidance Manual in CD-ROM, thus including the TIC in the training of counsellors and professionals within the sector). And the third one concerns the validation of the said products through the implementation of two experimental training courses: one for trainers in order to improve their <> and another one intended for FDA and similar figures which will be structured around modules, with the aim of validating the material prepared and check through the appropriate evaluation tasks whether it is suitable for the needs initially detected.
The execution of these lines of action is based on stages:
- Analysis of the concrete scenes and settings; study of the needs. Exchange, adaptation and instrumental development of methodologies. Trainers training.
- Pilot Experience: Application, evaluation and validation of the training products elaborated. ublication and diffusion.
Mare Nostrum has three main aims. In the first place, improving attitudes and capacities of the FDA in order they can generate opportunities for new or better employments. In the second place,In the last place, incorporating a great part of the contents of the material elaborated in the curriculum of the Nautical and Fishing Schools, with the object of extending benefits to the students of these centres and collaborating with the spreading of the process of acknowledgement of skills in the UE to advance in a common space in vocational training.
