Mapping skills needs and supply in the dairy sector

 

How to close the skills gaps between the suppliers and demand of the European dairy sector? This question is a major concern among dairy stakeholders in Europe, reason why AEDIL, a network of European stakeholders designed a project to find answers to the question. The project runs over three years and is presently initiating its second year.

The European dairy sector is rapidly changing towards more concentrated and specialized production and the global demands for dairy products are growing. This situation is matched with an education supply that is not fully ‘geared’ to provide the skills needed by the labour market, which displays a strong and growing need for comprehensive knowledge on ‘skills demands’ and ‘skills supply’ within the European dairy sector

Overall Objective

The overall objective of this project is a competitive European dairy sector where the industry and education sector collaborate to meet changing demands and trends. The immediate objective is to provide the sector with consolidated recommendations on training provision to meet the skills required by the labour market.

AEDIL (Association of European Dairy Industry Learning):

AEDIL is a European network of dairy stakeholders in 13 countries. 11 member-organizations have undertaken this project in the auspices of AEDIL with 40 participating bodies (10 universities, 9 VET-providers, 4 enterprises, 2 skills councils, 9 employers’ associations, 3 employees’ associations, 1 chamber of commerce, 1 national sectoral agency, 1 labour market research institute).

The project is composed of four major phases:

 

1. development of a framework for research of skills needs and supply in the dairy sector

2. research in 13 countries 

3. analysis of the data collected and finally

4. recommendations

 

The phases will work towards how we can close the skills gaps between suppliers and demanders and even out mismatches found in the research. The project as of the end of year 1 is in the Research Phase. Recommendations will be available in November 2019.

 

Impact 

The expected impact on dairy schools and universities is that they will be better suited to upgrade and improve their curriculum and to create a more attractive and business-oriented dairy education that appeals to students and young workers.

The expected impact on dairy enterprises is that they will know which educational institutions in Europe that educate graduates with the skills they need. This will enable a more flexible recruitment approach and a mobile workforce.

Contact the Project Co-ordinator Chris Edwards on Skype: chrise88256, mobile: +44(0)7961725278 or email: CE@maelkeritidende.dk