Developing the skills base

The Food Wise 2025 report, which sets out a cohesive, strategic plan for the development of agri-food sector over the next eight years, identified the attraction, retention, and development of talent right along the supply chain, supported by training that will foster the necessary technical and entrepreneurial skill sets as a critical factor in attaining its ambitious targets of increasing exports to €19 billion and creating 23,000 new jobs.

“The agri-food sector will only achieve its full growth potential if it can address the skills needs within the industry. This will involve investment in people currently working in the sector, a commitment to knowledge transfer that brings technological and process advances to the industry, and recognition of the need to attract people with the relevant skills into roles within the industry,” the report states.

Fortunately, Ireland is well served by a highly developed higher education and training sector which produces the graduates and provides the training required at all levels in the value chain from farm through processing and distribution.

For example, every university on the island as well as many of the institutes of technology offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate food science and technology programmes and courses while Teagasc is the main provider of further education in agriculture, food, horticulture, forestry and equine studies. Many of Teagasc's courses incorporate on-farm management practices and technologies, supervised project work and discussion groups. Further education courses are delivered through its network of colleges and local centres while higher level courses are delivered in partnership with third level colleges. Adult courses and food industry development training takes place at local centres throughout the country.

“The skills base is absolutely critical for the future of the agri-food sector,” says Lance O’Brien, head of foresight and strategy with Teagasc. “First of all, we must attract more young people into farming and the food processing industry. We have a fairly elderly population of farmers and land mobility is poor. This makes it difficult for young people to get into farming. Teagasc is using various approaches to help them and these including land sharing and leasing. We are also bringing in ideas from other countries such as New Zealand.”

Training in new technologies is of key importance. “We have just begun a review of our Green Cert education programme,” O’Brien adds. “This is the passport into farming and we have been running it for more than 30 years. It has served us well over the years but life has moved on. The review is looking at the modern farm and what it will look like in 20 or 30 years’ time and what skills farmers will require to meet the technological and environmental challenges which will arise in the future.”

The food industry will also have to make itself more attractive to young graduates, he continues. “A couple of key areas are management and marketing. The industry also has to step up to the market in terms of R&D and attract the science and technology graduates required for that area.”

The joint IDA Ireland-Enterprise Ireland food technology research centres also offer a valuable source of skills to the industry. These include three centres specifically aimed at the food sector, according to Enterprise Ireland technology centre programme manager Martin Hussey.

“The centres are very important for the skills profile of the industry,” he says. “They employ a cadre of researchers who have worked in a collaborative environment with the industry with many of them having worked part-time for companies during projects as well. We get people moving from the higher education institutions into companies. This is helping to develop a virtuous cycle of improvement, capability and professionalism within the whole industry.”