The Provincial School for Horticulture and Technology has traditionally been a schooltime with a real horticultural background . Currently , the school is busy reorienting itself . The reason ? Horticulture is changing , and so the range of courses on offering must modify with it . The Agrotechnology course is unexampled , for instance . " Those who take this course can still become agriculturist , but they do n’t have to , " explicate instructor Bjorn de Schoenmaeker .
" Students used to come to us to find out the craft , but fewer and fewer are doing so . There are also few and fewer agriculture . " The former horticultural school day , antecedently cry PITO Mechelen , is , therefore , now more than just horticulture .
For some years now , school-age child have also been offered courses in science and technology . " A James Leonard Farmer or horticulturist is more and more an agromanager these days . Besides create and merchandising , the profession also involves a lot of environmental , energy , and food safe publication , " sums up the teacher . What he means by this is that gardening has transfer in earnest over the past 50 years .
possibility immediately put into practiceThe schoolhouse is offer the Modern Agrotechnology course for the first time next schoolhouse time of year . This alteration fits in with the educational reform underway in Flanders , explains the instructor of finish principle , industrial plant , and growing environment .
During the course , pupil deal with all components and body that are authoritative in horticulture . From polish technique , biological control , and crop work to examine dissimilar selling options and legislation .
" We learn the industrial plant ( the basics ) and its environment and together go about attain the optimal cultivation and production proceeds using modern cultivation technology . So the hypothesis is immediately translated into practice . " Through ship’s company excursions , bookman are also introduce to the future subject field of work .
Demand from companiesEqually important , the requirement for invention came from the practice itself . " Companies like Bakker Belgium asked us to develop citizenry , as did growers who criticise on our room access require if we would school citizenry who also have an chemical attraction with engineering , for good example . "
presently , those people , who have green knowledge but also technological knowledge , are scarce . " Students still watch how to plant tomatoes with us , but we also learn them other thing in the new grooming . "
After six year of school , PTS Mechelen desire student to be capable to keep learning or to give for jobs at , for object lesson , a examination station , be fitted into a yield fellowship or even lead off up their own business .
SurpriseBjorn find during an open day in May this year that future scholarly person were storm by what horticulture has to offer up . The same astonishment is shared by other people from out of doors . " People wrongly still think that horticulture is just put plant life in the earth when it is much more science . "
At the school day , for get word ' the craft , ' there is also a nursery base . " That greenhouse may be 30 years old , but it did get an updated climate computer put in last year . "
This is the revamp Hoogendoorn , ready for ' Het Nieuwe Telen ' ( The New Cultivation ) . " We do that with and through students , reflux and flow system of rules , finish trough , growing rack fit with modular LED lights for experiment with propagation technique and optimizing grow condition … and I can guess of a few more … in brusk , we are armed to send green origin surging through vein ! "
next prospects for apprenticesSo what are the educatee ' future view ? " Very broad , " replies the instructor . " alternative to piece of work are available in all form of factory farm such as timber table service , enquiry centers , or marketing establishment , but pupils can also become future farm handler . Or further cogitation for those who ca n’t get enough of this subject matter . "
Bjorn believes it is crucial to be very honorable . but training love apple pickers , however , no longer suits these times , he believes . " Flemish students , just as in the Netherlands , are increasingly too expensive for harvest work , for seasonal work . So we wo n’t deliberately train those people here either . "
Like our own glasshouse , connection with practical farms are also important . " We do n’t have CHP ourselves , for model , but if we want to learn students about this , we can always visit a grower with CHP . "
likewise , vendue BelOrta is also nearby to learn about marketing . The school day also has its own school store with a webshop for this purpose . " What we have left over , we pitch to the auction , " he allege . According to Bjorn , PTS Mechelen is " perfectly located " with grower , the auction bridge , and the testing place in Sint - Katelijne - Waver close by .
Ready for the futureBy align the education on offer and separate a complete , divers level about horticulture , PTS Mechelen aim to deepen citizenry ’s sensing of the sphere . Naturally , the hope is that this will also increase the number of apprentices enrol . " At the moment , we have eight apprentice in the fourth year . I look all of them to bring home the bacon . Next year , in the first class with the Agrotechnology form , we trust to double that . "
The schoolhouse in Mechelen is not the only one in Flanders . There are four more school that offer up Agrotechnics . " We have to digest behind what we have to propose , " the instructor concludes . " Our aim is not to entice students . Whoever you attract , you have to reinforce . " They certainly want to do that in Mechelen , in addition to telling the story of the changing sphere . " It would be decent if we also attain that people start think about where their asparagus or their peppercorn come from . "
For more selective information : PTS MechelenAntwerpsesteenweg 1452800 MechelenTel . : +32 15 28 53 20[email protected]www.ptsmechelen.be
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