XtraMile and Campus BLÅ have entered into a partnership agreement with the goal of making relevant, quality-assured expertise more easily accessible to the aquaculture industry. The partnership combines Campus BLÅ’s academic and industry expertise with XtraMile’s technology for digital training, automation, and skills assessment. In an industry with ever-increasing demands regarding safety, fish welfare, and documentation—among other things—this partnership will contribute to more effective training and make it easier to ensure that employees have the right, up-to-date skills, regardless of where they work.
(Ready to collaborate. Photo: from left, Ludvig Johansen, Sigrid Halseth Torgersen, Chris Gulberg, Sten Ove Elvegård, Kristoffer Aas)
Meeting a growing need in the industry
The aquaculture industry is constantly evolving. New production methods, technology, and changing requirements mean that companies must take a more systematic approach to skills development than in the past.
It is no longer sufficient to provide training only when new employees are hired or when a new requirement arises. Skills must be kept up to date, and companies must maintain an overview of who needs what training, what has been completed, and when skills need to be refreshed. This applies to permanent employees, new hires, seasonal workers, and contract workers alike.
“Competency requirements in the aquaculture industry are constantly evolving. For training to be effective, it must be professionally relevant, up-to-date, and easy to deliver to the people who need it,” says Chris Guldberg, executive director of Campus BLÅ.
Making Professional Skills More Accessible
A key part of the collaboration is making specialized professional expertise more easily accessible throughout the industry.
Campus BLÅ has built a broad professional community within the blue economy and offers education and training in several areas. Mandatory professional courses in aquaculture are offered digitally, while maritime and certified safety training takes place in person or in a hybrid format.
Through this collaboration, the first professional courses from Campus BLÅ have now been launched and are available via the XtraMiles learning platform. The courses cover topics such as fish welfare, escape prevention, chemical handling, aquaculture, and RAS production.
View more of Campus BLÅ’s courses now on XtraMiles’ course portal →
For companies with employees at different locations, working different shifts, or at geographically dispersed facilities, digital access can make it easier to incorporate training as a natural part of the workday.
“For us, this is about making quality-assured professional expertise available where people actually work. This partnership gives us the opportunity to reach more companies and employees in an efficient way, ” says Chris Guldberg, CEO of Campus BLÅ
From Individual Courses to Systematic Skills Development
Access to high-quality courses is only one part of skills development.
Organizations must also ensure that the right person completes the right training, follow up on incomplete training, and keep track of certificates, recertifications, and expiring certifications.
This is where XtraMiles’ technology will complement Campus BLÅ’s professional expertise. The platform makes it possible to automate the distribution and follow-up of training and to centralize documentation and competency data in one place.
“ The goal is to make it easier to transition from standalone courses to a more systematic approach to competency development. The right training must reach the right person, while the organization maintains control over completion and documentation,” says Sten Ove Elvegård of XtraMile.
Skill development that contributes to better fish welfare
Competency also has a direct impact on the quality of day-to-day operations.
In areas such as fish welfare, biosecurity, escape prevention, and production, the consequences of inadequate or outdated knowledge can be significant. When employees have easier access to up-to-date professional expertise, and the company can simultaneously verify that the necessary training has actually been completed, skills development becomes more closely integrated with day-to-day operations.
“Good fish welfare depends on people with the right knowledge and understanding. That’s why it’s important that professional expertise isn’t just available, but actually reaches employees and is put into practice,” says Guldberg.
Great Potential for More Effective Training
At the same time, training and competency follow-up can be administratively demanding.
New hires must be onboarded, mandatory courses must be completed, certifications must be renewed, and employees must be followed up on when training is lacking. In addition, documentation must be available for internal controls, audits, and inspections.
XtraMile and Campus BLÅ believe there is significant potential in systematizing and automating more of this work.
Among other things, this collaboration can contribute to:
• easier access to relevant professional courses throughout the organization
• more efficient management of mandatory training and recertification
• automatic follow-up on missing training
• a better overview of skills, certifications, and expiration dates
• less manual administrative work
• simpler documentation during audits and inspections
– “The technology is designed to eliminate as much of the administrative burden surrounding training as possible. Less time spent on manual reminders and follow-ups means more time can be devoted to actual skills development,” says Elvegård.
Two professional communities that complement each other
The collaboration is based on the fact that the two partners have different but complementary strengths.
Campus BLÅ has specialized expertise in aquaculture, pedagogy, and the development of courses and educational programs for the blue economy. XtraMile has developed technology to produce, distribute, automate, and track training across organizations.
Through this partnership, Campus BLÅ can reach a wider audience with its subject-matter expertise, while XtraMile gains closer access to a strong academic community and greater insight into the skills needs of the aquaculture industry.
“We complement each other well. Campus BLÅ knows the subject area and the industry’s needs, while we have the technology that makes it easier to scale and track training. This provides a solid foundation for developing better solutions together,” says Elvegård.
About Campus BLÅ
Campus BLÅ was established in 2017 with the goal of becoming a leading provider of knowledge and training in the blue sector. The organization offers both digital and in-person training and includes Campus BLÅ High School, Campus BLÅ Vocational School, and Campus BLÅ Courses.
The digital course portfolio includes, among other topics, fish welfare, escape prevention, chemical handling, biology, RAS technology, and other expertise tailored to the aquaculture industry.
About XtraMile
XtraMile is an AI-driven learning platform for organizations that want to produce, distribute, and track training more effectively.
The platform is used for onboarding, mandatory training, recertification, and skills development, among other things, with features for automation, documentation, and tracking of completed training.