Quality assurance for vocational training

ORA, the International Organic-Retailers Association, participated in BIOFACH 2009 and gave a presentation of the new project Eco Qualify 2, carried out in the EU Leonardo-da-Vinci Program. Eco Qualify 2 deals with quality assurance in the training of sales and management staff in organic retailing business environments. This applies to organic special shops, organic supermarkets, organic farm shops, organic farmers’ markets and foodstuff retailers with organic assortments. In Eco Qualify 1 all essential qualification standards for professional practise of organic foodstuff retailing were defined. In Eco Qualify 2 it is aimed at the development of a quality assurance system and handbook as well as the certification of adult education institutes in the EU offering this special area of vocational trainings.
 
Eco Qualify focuses on the standardization of the appraisals as well as the quality assurance of adult education institutes. In future this should facilitate both - job application for employees as well as selection of appropriate staff for employers. Thus this should lead to a general improvement of quality in organic foodstuff retailing in all important market channels. First ORA-certified training courses will be conducted in Austria, Germany and Holland in winter 2009/2010. Other EU countries will follow in the forthcoming years, much depending on the translation and availability of the many special training modules.
 

www.o-r-a.org/project.php, www.equalita.de