Sector at a crossroads
The agrifood sector stands at a critical crossroads, where urgent action is needed to build a workforce ready for the future. Labour shortages, shifting demographics and rapid technological advancements are exposing gaps across the food system that need to be addressed.
The entire EU agrifood sector provides 30 million jobs, creating €900 billion (£769.1 billion) of added value in 2022 alone. However, the OECD reports that across the sector, there is a high rate of skills mismatch, and the sector is forecast to lose 13% of its skilled workers in the next decade.
Meanwhile the European Commission has highlighted that shortages in digital and green skills are impeding progress towards strategies such as the EU’s Green Deal, which emphasises the need to integrate education and upskilling into sustainability efforts.
As the need for urgent climate action accelerates, and evolving innovation is reshaping the food system faster than many can adapt, the challenge we face is how to build a workforce that is resilient and future ready. To meet the challenges ahead, we must move towards evolving models of education and embrace a smarter, more agile approach – one that leverages the power of AI to create a truly sustainable workforce.
A changing landscape
The agrifood sector is undergoing acute structural change. The transition towards sustainable farming practices, growing consumer demand for transparency and traceability, and the adoption of advanced technologies are creating an entirely new job landscape.
This transformation is exposing gaps in digital literacy, systems thinking, and tech-enabled problem solving – while the pace of change is exceeding our ability to equip people with the skills they need to thrive in this new environment.
This is leading to a widening gap between the roles that need filling, and the qualifications people hold – especially in rural areas where access to reskilling opportunities can be limited. As the EESC has highlighted, rural areas account for 80% of the EU’s territory, but suffer from structural problems such as skills shortages, lack of employment opportunities and underinvestment in digital infrastructure.
Without targeted interventions, this gap will only widen, putting both our food security and sustainability ambitions at risk.
AI-driven skills development
One of the most promising developments in this space is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support inclusive and personalised upskilling. By continuously mapping labour market data, AI-powered tools can identify emerging roles and forecast future skills demand, helping individuals pivot into new careers.
This approach underpins the Geek4Food Skills Platform, launched by EIT Food in partnership with SkyHive by Cornerstone and part of a large consortium under the project Glocal Ecosystems and Expanded Knowledge for skills and capabilities in the food sector, which is supported by the Erasmus+ programme. The platform is designed to close the skills gap in the agrifood sector, connecting learners, workers, employers, educators, and soon, policymakers, with the tools and opportunities they need to upskill and reskill, accelerating progress toward a more sustainable and innovative food system.
The platform uses AI to connect the dots between what employers are looking for and what individuals have to offer. Its recommendations are shaped by a person’s existing experience, transferable skills, and preferred learning style – making upskilling more accessible, relevant and actionable.
Meanwhile, innovative solutions such as AI TALENTUM, an EIT Food startup supported by EIT, are already showing real-world impact by leveraging AI to transform the food system. Its approach emphasises applying machine learning to enhance productivity, traceability, and safety across the food value chain, contributing to the digital transformation of the sector.
Crucially, these platforms don’t replace the need for traditional education or training providers. Instead, they serve as an intelligent bridge – aligning evolving industry needs with individual skills and accelerating the journey between the two.
Systemic change
Of course, technology alone won’t drive the change we need to see across the food system. To truly transition to a skills-based labour market in the agrifood sector, we need systemic change – and that means effective collaboration across innovation, industry, policy and education.
Employers have a critical role to play – they must invest in upskilling to contribute to a resilient and innovative food system. They also need to be more transparent about the skills they need, so that education and training pathways can be developed accordingly.
For policymakers, the challenge is to create a regulatory and financial environment that supports lifelong learning, while incentivising innovation. We have seen this first-hand through initiatives supported by EIT Food’s innovation community, where startups and educators are working together to deliver integrated learning that reflects real-world demand.
Meanwhile, educators must embrace new models of learning and teaching, embedding future-readiness into the curriculum. That includes not only teaching essential technical skills but also fostering an innovation mindset among the next generation. Facilitating public-private partnerships and industry collaboration will help ensure that the next generation is prepared not just for the jobs of today, but for those we can’t yet imagine.
Rethinking food sector talent
The transition to a more sustainable, innovative and resilient food system will be shaped not just by what we produce, but by who produces it, and how well we support them to adapt and thrive.
With AI-powered tools offering smarter, faster and more tailored ways to develop talent, we have a unique opportunity to shift towards a labour market that is led by skills, not just roles.
There are already encouraging signs, from the early uptake of tools such as the Geek4Food Skills Platform, to emerging partnerships across the food system. These developments show what’s possible when technology is combined with purpose and collaboration.
However, to seize this momentum and scale these solutions fast enough, we must integrate collaboration across the entire agrifood system. The collective efforts of industry leaders, educators, policymakers, and workers will determine if we can unlock this potential.
Now is the moment to reimagine workforce planning as a catalyst for change, and a core pillar of food system resilience.
