Relevant Skills for Employment and Entrepreneurship in the Agri-Food Sector

Dan Bodescu, Alina Sîrghea, Roxana Nicoleta Raţu, Ciprian Chiruţă, Răzvan-Nicolae Mălăncuş, Dan Donosă and Alexandru-Dragoș Robu ()
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Dan Bodescu: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Alina Sîrghea: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Roxana Nicoleta Raţu: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Ciprian Chiruţă: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Răzvan-Nicolae Mălăncuş: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Dan Donosă: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania
Alexandru-Dragoș Robu: Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iași University of Life Sciences, M. Sadoveanu Alley, No. 3, 700490 Iasi, Romania

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-30

Abstract: In the current social, economic, natural and geopolitical context, there is an acute need for research on professional and entrepreneurial skills in line with the challenges and opportunities of the rapidly changing global economy. The aim of this study was to determine the skills required by employees and entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector. This research study consisted of interviews, questionnaires and focus groups on a sample of 111 employers, 288 students and 139 teachers from the North-East Development Region of Romania. The most important skills needed by higher education graduates in the agri-food sector were communication, learning and social skills, with values of 90.5, 74.3 and 70.6 points, respectively. The least appreciated skills were cultural, linguistic and mathematical skills, with values of 17.5, 36.9 and 43.8 points. For developing and running an entrepreneurial activity, the subjects appreciated communication (91.0 points), as in the case of employment-related skills, followed by economic skills (81.4 points) and learning skills (75.4 points). Additional efforts are needed to increase the relevance of practical activities in correlation with the skills required by the market, and it is necessary to strengthen the current partnerships and create new partnerships between universities and the economic environment by employing public and research entities.

Keywords: agri-food; higher education; employment; entrepreneurship; communication skills; learning skills; social abilities; economic skills (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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