In Italy the Chioggia and Po Delta Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) has successfully convinced a high school to launch an official training programme in commercial fishing and fish production. The FLAG was instrumental, together with fisheries stakeholders and the wider local community, in attract the first groups of students who will become the entrepreneurs of the future.
Training opportunities are scarce in the Chioggia and Po Delta area and the dropout rate of pupils is high. At the same time, professional fishing is poorly perceived, which makes it less attractive for young people to enter the industry.
To address these two problems, the FLAG encouraged the Istituto Professionale Settore Industria Artigianato (IPSIA) in Porto Tolle to implement a training programme on fisheries entrepreneurship. The training is focused on ensuring a wide range of skills adapted to the modern reality of professional fisheries – navigation, safety at sea, sustainable fishing techniques, supply chain, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Through this training, the FLAG aims to change the image of the fisheries sector, attracting more young people to work in the industry and prevent them leaving the area. The first class will graduate in 2023, with 30 students obtaining their professional qualification.
“It is important to have a professional qualification linked to fishing entrepreneurship. We have had it for agriculture for years, and now our students can enter the labour market with an official qualification, recognised by the Ministry of Education,” said lecturer Armanda Tosatto, who is responsible for this training initiative.
“Being a fisherman is much more than going to the sea and bringing the fish back to land. It’s about being an entrepreneur and contributing to the health of our sea and fish stocks.”
One of the barriers faced by the IPSIA was the national requirement defining a minimum quota of 20 pupils in a class to launch and run a training programme in public schools – a challenge in a sparsely populated area such as the Po Delta.
With the help of the FLAG’s communication efforts to inform and involve the families living in the area, the institute was finally able to recruit two groups of pupils, who started their training in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, the FLAG was able to secure EMFF funding in addition to financial contributions from the Chioggia municipality and the local fisheries organisation for the project which cover some expenses, such as a school bus.
