Blue Smart

About the project

BLUE SMART - “Blue Education for Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources"

Project coordinator: University of Zadar – Department of ecology, agronomy and aquaculture

Project partners:  Agency for Rural Development of Zadar County (AGRRA), Cromaris and WWF Adria

Project duration: 01/01/2017 - 31/12/2018

Total eligible costs: 399.493 €

General objective: To create new skills and competences in blue economy sector and increase the employability of current and future sectors' workers in the County of Zadar.

Specific objectives:

1) To create conditions for training of a new generation of students and professionals equipped with the appropriate skills to match the needs of the industry.

2) To provide people already working in the field with the new skills required.

Project results:

Establishment of graduate study “Sustainable Management of Water Ecosystems”

The graduate programme is based on interdisciplinary management of water ecosystems with special emphasis on environmental protection. The programme  includes afternoon and at weekend classes to enable students professionals from other sectors to upgrade existing education levels while working.

Design of a Training Course for the Vocational Education and Training in „Introduction to sustainable fisheries practice“

Developing an innovative on-line course will enable additional professionalization of workers in the sector. The course contents will be available in the form of an open platform divided into different modules.

Project background:

Taking into account an increasing demand for aquatic products on local market, but also on the EU market, fisheries sector has a very high potential for growth and jobs. According to the Operational Programme for support of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund there is an estimation of roughly 25.000 people employed in this sector in Croatia. Around 30% of these employees work in the fisheries sector in Zadar County. Between 2001 and 2011 the employment in the fisheries sector in the County of Zadar tripled (up to 208%) while at the national level the number of employees in the sector increased by 49% in the same period. However, the data show that there is a big shortage of skilled workforce which will additionally increase in the coming years, as the sector is growing. Unavoidable component of future sector development is its sustainability, reduction of the negative impact on the environment and establishment of synergy with other activities in the coastal area.

Precisely due to this need for new workforce on the labour market, capable of supporting the further development of the blue sector in Zadar County and Croatia in general, the project “Blue Education for Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources – BLUE SMART” has been designed. The general objective will contribute to the objective set in this Call for proposals as with the development of new skills and competences it will fill existing skills’ gaps in blue economy sector. The project will implement the activities related both to initial and continuous education and training of current and future workers in blue economy sectors in need of specific professional profiles in the local, regional and cross-border level.