The course is especially dedicated to provide teachers with new knowledge about environmental sustainability and reduction of natural resource consumption to increase student participation in furniture-related VET programmes.
Today, the attitude towards sustainability has changed drastically, and it is almost a necessity for any successful company to participate in environmental initiatives. As consumers around the world demand sustainable products in a variety of areas, all industries must adapt to meet their demands. Customers in the furniture sector are no different, and sustainable furniture – whether for the home, the office or the workplace – has become a highly sought-after product.
We are at a time when companies that integrate sustainability at the core of their strategy are better positioned to create value and foster their own sustainability. As expectations of corporate responsibility rise and transparency becomes more prevalent, sustainability is becoming a primary objective for supply chains in all industries, including the furniture sector.
Achieving a green economy requires greater integration of skills development policies and employment based on a green economic agenda. This is leading to unprecedented changes in training needs. In this sense, VET curricula for the wood sector do not include any training on sustainability and environment, so students have to acquire this kind of knowledge from other learning sources.
The TABLE project aims to go directly to the root of the problem, i.e. to train wood VET teachers so that they can teach their students about environmental sustainability and the reduction of the consumption of natural resources. TABLE is a European project funded by the European Commission through the Erasmus+ programme and involves six organisations from France, Italy, Romania, Poland and Spain.
The project will provide high quality material for VET teachers, as nowadays it is very important to invest in sustainable practices for the conservation of natural resources and waste management in education. This training course is also innovative, as it addresses the challenge of sustainability and meets the needs of SMEs in the furniture and wood sector, which need to adapt to new forms of manufacturing and logistics to comply with European regulations.
The TABLE project training course is completely free of charge, it is available online, so trainees can follow their own learning pace, and finally, the course is available in English, French, Italian, Romanian, Polish and Spanish.
The course contents are as follows:
- Module 1 – Sustainability of wood in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals: From theory to practice.
- Module 2 – Climate change, biodiversity and renewable energy. The forestry and wood sectors at the forefront of the challenges.
- Module 3 – Ecodesign and sustainable design in the furniture and wood sector.
- Module 4 – Waste management in the furniture and wood sector.
- Module 5 – Impact and minimisation of resource use in the furniture and wood sector.
- Module 6 – Green skills, communication strategies and development of new markets in/for the furniture and wood sector.
For more information about the course and to register for the online learning platform, please visit the following link.
