An EU-led initiative to upskill and reskill workers within the agri-food system has been established to ensure that it is seen as an attractive area for young people to work in.

The ‘Pact for Skills’ partnership has been launched for one of the largest sectors of the European economy, which employs more than 200 million people from 10 million farms, 22,000 agri-food co-operatives, and 289,000 food and drink processing sites.

In 2021 the European Commission requested that the Brussels associations Copa-Cogeca (agriculture) and FoodDrinkEurope (food industry) coordinate the partnership along the agri-food value chain.

Since then, they have secured the involvement of other industry associations, member states, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and larger companies, universities, and training providers, as well as cooperation from EU projects already working on upskilling and reskilling the workforce.

“The agri-food system is by far the biggest employment sector in Europe, and it has a significant impact on both rural and urban communities, and is comprised of more than 99% SMEs,” a spokesperson for Copa-Cogeca said.

In October, the partnership presented their ambitions and workplan, which focussed on upskilling and reskilling the agri-food workforce with a particular aim to increase the attractiveness of the industry to young people.

“Together, we wanted to build a food chain that can provide life-long learning opportunities in a stable and viable career,” said the spokesperson.

The Pact for Skills partnership in the agri-food sector has been officially launched, is growing in membership, and gaining momentum, according to the partners.

Its main task will be the setting of a joint strategy to design and implement a sectoral upskilling and reskilling framework; maximising competitiveness of all the actors involved; and enhancing job retention and job attractiveness of the agri-food ecosystem within the frame of the Pact for Skills.

“We are dedicated to getting the whole industry on-board and to equip the workers of today with the skills for tomorrow,” the spokesperson said