Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Maria Byrne for raising this subject which, I have to admit, is close to my heart. As somebody who is a graduate of the farm apprenticeship scheme, which, at the time, was the hard work scheme, I certainly appreciate the value of having young people trained in the area.

Human capital is one of the five themes highlighted in Food Wise 2025. It highlights the need for the attraction, retention and development of skills and talent right along the supply chain. Investment in people is crucial for the success of Food Wise 2025 and the success of the sector as a whole. I might add that I had to leave the national economic dialogue to come here to take this Commencement matter and that an afternoon break-out session will be on the agrifood sector addressing all the challenges and that one of the five themes will be human capital.

The report identifies a number of skills gaps, including lack of advanced financial and business development capabilities, foreign language skills, and capacity to absorb new technologies and processes both at producer and processing levels. The implementation of the report recommendations on skills and human capital will be crucial if the ambition for the sector in the report is to be achieved.

Highly skilled and committed people have driven this sector for decades and the agrifood sector is embedded in our culture as a nation. In a fast changing globalised economy, the premium and advantages to be achieved by applying the most up-to-date skills and techniques, attracting new enthusiastic and trained people and the ongoing development of the skills of those already involved in the sector will allow the sector fulfil Its potential.

Continuing changes to regulatory and farm compliance requirements have implications for both young farmer education and the lifelong learning requirements of adult farmers. Likewise rapid advances in the use of information technology, applied software and the use of smart applications is impacting on the farming sector and the education and up-skilling of young and adult farmers.

In November last year, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine hosted a food and drinks skills workshop. This proved a useful format for informing stakeholders from the food and beverage sector, trade unions and academics of the skills gaps facing the sector, from factory workers to top executives, and gathering practical ideas of how to address these issues. A list of recommendations were agreed at the workshop and these were presented to the expert group on skills in December. The Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Fitzgerald, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, launched the 2017 Report of Future Skills Needs in the Food and Drinks Sector in April.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine hosted a similar workshop on 6 April, looking at future skills needs and gaps at farm level. The workshop was held to highlight the skills gaps at farm level, the need to develop a career path for those working on the farm to use this to attract and retain talent for this sector and improve the overall perception of a career in farming. The workshop was divided into three themes, farm operatives, farmers and farm managers, and the next generation, with speakers from Teagasc, the farm relief services, progressive farmers, both male and female, and the land mobility service. Representatives from the various farming organisations, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Education and Skills attended the workshop also. This resulted in a number of recommendations being made. These recommendations were presented to the Minister, Deputy Creed, at the Food Wise 2025 high-level implementation committee in May and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is currently examining the next steps for these recommendations.

The recommendations are based on the three themes of the workshop.We are all aware of the significant shortage of skilled labour on dairy farms, in particular, but also in horticulture. A solution could be a training model to provide for skills training for farm operatives as well as future farmers. Common issues identified at the workshop include better communication on career possibilities to young farmers, in particular at secondary school level; skills training needs to adapt to meet new skills gaps and new and different workforce; literacy and language support should be mainstreamed in all training; and the need for continuous professional development as part of career development.

There is no doubt that Irish farms are the bedrock on which this whole multi-billion euro sector rests. This is something we must never forget and the Minister, Deputy Creed, and I are determined to ensure, together with agencies such as Teagasc, that farming is a viable career opportunity for those who wish to pursue it. Earlier this month, Teagasc published a farm labour manual to assist farmers who are currently employing or thinking of employing a labour unit for the first time.