EFFAT has released the final report on the joint EFFAT-FoodDrinkEurope project “New professions and career paths in the Food and Drink Industry: Delivering high-level food industry skills in the digital economy” tackling how digital technology is drastically changing the face of manufacturing in the food and drink industry.
The food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the EU employing some 4,72 million people, generating a turnover of €1.2 trillion and €236 billion in value added.
Compared to other manufacturing sectors in the EU, it is a key provider of jobs and stable employer.
Digitalisation – along with automation – is a major driver of the changing face of manufacturing in the food and drink industry, as companies strive for new and sustainable sources of growth and jobs in Europe. Increasingly, due to product innovation, market competitiveness and technological progress, new skills are required in a wide range of areas.
This report concluded the EU-funded social dialogue project exploring current changes in employment, alongside other work-related challenges.
More specifically, its aim was to achieve the following objectives on behalf of the European social partners in the food and drink sector:
- to identify the new technologies in the food and drink industry, the emerging jobs and the new skills and types of qualifications required
- to undertake a forward-looking reflection on what criteria will underpin the socially successful adaptation of Food Industry 4.0
Please click here to see the video report.