TRAINING
The Minister for the Environment has set up two main
training projects for young people interested in water-related skills
- the "Water Polygon" and "Crescendeau".
- The " Water Polygon ", operated
by the Walloon Water Company (SWDE) in Verviers, the capital
of Walloon water, brings together the operators and services from
the region's water industry.
The " Water Polygon " comprises two main
elements :
- A Centre for Water Management, run by the SWDE, promotes
and publicises water professions and publicises water-related environmental
technology.
- A Training Centre for water-related professional skills,
run by FOREM, caters to companies and individuals active in the water
sector, to job-seekers considering the water industry, to teachers
and students from the technical and professional educational sector,
and to young people approaching the end of their studies and heading
towards the world of work. This project seeks to create a new structure
capable of tackling the tasks devolved to skill centres, particularly
in terms of training for the new technologies in this sector. Some
10 trainers are employed, providing full-time training to 50 trainees
at a time, or some 300 workers, 50 job-seekers, and 100 students and
educationalists annually.
- " Crescendeau", backed by the University
of Liege - brings together under one roof a research centre and
a centre of water-related scientific expertise designed to meet the
needs of both public operators and industry. The Walloon Region has
thus at its disposal a scientific and technological tool to develop
its qualitative and quantitative expertise of the whole water cycle,
and develop its water industry - in response to the challenge of the
European framework directive on water. The centre will be fully operational
from mid-2004. It will have a staff of seven in its start-up phase,
and eleven when fully operational.
RESEARCH
The Minister has invited the universities to work together in PIRENE
(the programme for integrated research on water and the environment).
Eighteen services from seven Walloon universities work with the Walloon
political and administrative authorities, and the water operators, based
in the environment pole of the University of Liege.
The aim is to develop a model for each sub-basin to provide real assistance
and input to those managing the integrated water cycle. This is a European
first.
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