Title : Evaluation of the Plant-Based Processing training (PBP) as part of the EQVEGAN project
Abstract:
In recent years, the number of consumers interested in food produced from plant-based raw materials has been growing. More and more people are paying attention to what they eat and how it affects our world. As a result, the number of vegans, vegetarians and people reducing their meat consumption is growing worldwide. As a result, demand for vegan and vegetarian products is growing rapidly. For food producers who want to follow this trend, it means implementing innovative technologies and simultaneously expanding their qualifications.
In order to meet these challenges, modern training courses have been developed for people who want to improve their qualifications, employees in companies producing food based on plant raw materials.
EQVEGAN (European Qualifications & Competences for the Vegan Food Industry) is a Sector Skills Alliance involving 15 institutions from 11 countries. The aim of the project was to support the rapidly changing plant processing sector in terms of improving staff qualifications and mobility of specialists in Europe. The EQVEGAN project has developed a vocational skills portal for people working in vegan food production and a European system for their certification.
As part of the EQVGAN project, the Poznań University of Life Sciences conducted free training following EU quality and reference tools at two levels, EQF6 and EQF7, in 2022-2023. The trainings included lectures and practical sessions in four modules: Plant-based Foods Processing (technologies for creating substitutes, nutrition, safety, product development - economic and legal aspects), Green Skills, Digitalisation/Automation, and Soft Skills. The learning resources were available free of charge through the ISEKI e-learning platform. The course was very popular, however the number of places was limited. A total of 31 people participated in the training, including 13 people at EQF6 level and 18 people at EQF7 level. The participants of the training were aged between 18 and 50 years. Participants aged 22-30 were over 50%.The majority of the participants were Polish (80%) and 20% were foreigners.
45% of participants declared professional experience related to the food industry, 39% had a background related to food technology and human nutrition and 16% had no qualifications. Participants were requested to evaluate the courses using the online questionnaire at the end of the entire training.
The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the course material was appropriate (78%), stimulated their curiosity and motivation (71%), were satisfied with the timetable distribution (88%), found the lectures insightful, helpful, and useful (78%), were satisfied with the reading materials and notes provided. The majority of students felt that the time allotted for assignments reasonable (84%).
The learning outcomes were considered to have been achieved in 81% of cases.
A high number of students (81%) would recommend this unit to other students, indicating a positive overall experience.
In summary, the survey results reflected a positive response from the students to various aspects of the course, such as engagement, course content, lecture quality, support, and assessment fairness. The high percentages of agreement suggest that the course was well-received and effective in its delivery and structure.
