Skill Needs for Sustainable Agri-Food and Forestry Sectors (II): Insights of a European Survey

Ana Ramalho Ribeiro (), Billy Goodburn, Luis Mayor, Line F. Lindner, Christoph F. Knöbl, Jacques Trienekens, Daniel Rossi, Francesca Sanna, Remigio Berruto and Patrizia Busato
Additional contact information
Ana Ramalho Ribeiro: ISEKI-Food Association, Impacthub Vienna, Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Billy Goodburn: Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society, The Plunkett House, 84 Merrion Square, DO2 T882 Dublin, Ireland
Luis Mayor: ISEKI-Food Association, Impacthub Vienna, Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Line F. Lindner: ISEKI-Food Association, Impacthub Vienna, Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Christoph F. Knöbl: ISEKI-Food Association, Impacthub Vienna, Lindengasse 56, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Jacques Trienekens: Business Management & Organisation Group, Social Sciences Department, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706KN Wageningen, The Netherlands
Daniel Rossi: Confagricoltura, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 101, 00186 Roma, Italy
Francesca Sanna: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (DISAFA), Università di Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy
Remigio Berruto: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (DISAFA), Università di Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy
Patrizia Busato: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (DISAFA), Università di Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, Grugliasco, 10095 Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: The agri-food and forestry sectors are in transition towards more sustainable, green, and innovative systems tackling several challenges posed by globalization, governance, and consumers’ demands. This transition to novel processes, markets, and businesses requires skills and competences to prepare the new generations and upskill the actual workforce. The purpose of this paper was to assess the skills and knowledge needs of future professionals in the agri-food and forestry sectors, from European stakeholders’ perspectives, by using a European questionnaire. Overall, respondents highlighted the importance of improving sustainability and soft and digital skills. In particular, food safety management and control; quality management and assurance of processes and product; efficient use of resources and organization; and planning, visioning, and strategic thinking skills ranked higher. In almost all countries, respondents had the perception that neither formal nor non-formal training covered training needs, though formal training was more suited to address education requirements. Both for organizations and individuals, it is far more relevant to have skills to perform than to have training recognition. The outcomes also provide findings that can be used to help develop updated curricula that meet the sector’s needs.

Keywords: skills survey; skills training; sustainability; bioeconomy; agri-food sector; forestry sector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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