The initiative – supported by the EU’s European Institute of Innovation and Technology – is designed to tackle the urgent need for better education systems across Europe.
In fact, a consultation of over 1,000 business and employers found that most current education and training provision does not meet the needs of the industry.
First-of-its-kind assessment process
The Learning Services is the first-of-its-kind, offering a single, pan-European assessment process for all professional education and training programmes within the agrifood system.
“Over 40 million people are currently employed within our global food system, from production and manufacturing through to retail and hospitality,” said Maarten van der Kamp, director of Education at EIT Food.
“However, speaking to over one thousand employers across Europe revealed that most do not feel adequately prepared to deal with the challenges facing our food system.
“As the first pan-European initiative of its kind, we hope to see our Learning Services set a standard of excellence for professional development in the agrifood industry and support employers to upskill their workforces to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.”
Learning Services sets the bar in the way practitioners across Europe deliver non-academic training courses, using the EIT Food Quality Mark of Excellence to ensure a course meets the needs of the agrifood sector.
EIT Food offers over 50 courses in its catalogue, including 25 MOOCs (massive open online courses).
The programme is underpinned by EIT Food’s proprietary Competency Framework, which offers clear vocational and professional pathways for learning that employers can use to identify skills gaps in their workforce and select high-quality learning materials to aid career development.
