ICOS has developed a young farmer training programme that will introduce them to the co-operative, its values and culture. It also covers cover topics such management, finance, policy, legislation, marketing and sustainability. An online training platform with "games" is part of the programme and will be available in five European countries; Ireland, Spain, France, Latvia and Sweden.

Gamification of learning is a relatively new concept especially for the co-operative sectors in all countries involved, ICOS said.

The games that have been developed include:

  • Decision making.
  • Risk Management.
  • Finance.
  • Organisational Skills.
  • Leadership & Communications.
  • Principles of co-operation.
  • The LeadFarm training programme was launched at the LeadFarm Project conference in Naas on Wednesday. It is funded through the European Union Erasmus Plus Programme.

    The LeadFarm Project aims to culture a new generation of co-op leaders that is gender balanced. As part of the project, up to five young farmers from each country participated in study visits to France and Spain. There they met with other young farmers and co-operative societies to benchmark how they operate and promote participation by young farmers.

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