Project

Development of the fish processing curriculum of Community Colleges using blended learning approach

Many (remote) fishing communities in the Indonesian archipelago struggle to realise a good livelihood and secure the availability of nutritious foodstuffs for their families. Communities have limited access to vocational education that would open up access to modern technologies and labour markets.

Education system for remote areas

Younger generations tend to show less interest for fisheries as there are no good job opportunities. This situation threatens the long term availability of fish processing capacity in areas of production to secure the competitive supply of fish products to the modern market.

Community Colleges in Indonesia are duly positioned to develop and implement vocational education systems appropriate for remote areas. Indonesia has no standard for a vocational education curriculum for Community Colleges related to fisheries. Currently there is no programme specifically designed for creating job opportunities in fisheries industries.

Upgrading vocational education

The Indonesian ‘pro-poor, pro-job, pro-growth’ policies specially targets economic development of remote areas. Upgrading vocational education is key to provide communities with options for further education and training which allows their employability. Hence focus of capacity building will be on technical, managerial and entrepreneurial aspects.

Close cooperation with the private sector ensures that relevant vocational skills creating opportunities for employment and economic development are developed.

Innovative aspects of this initiative are:

  1. Development of vocational tuition programmes through a blended learning approach including online learning, workshops and internships;
  2. Use of modern education techniques, especially e-learning, providing large groups of (remote) students with standardised learning materials;
  3. Setting up a platform for (local) private sector contribution to curriculum development.

The important benefits to a blended learning approach are:

  • it can be a great resource for students who may have been out of school for an extended period of time. It can be a natural transition between everyday life and returning to school;