In these transitions, digital innovation (and the interconnected knowledge and facilitating organizational structures) enable transitions to new forms of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, while sustainable thinking governs the process of digitalization (Twin-in Erasmus+ Project, 2025).
Agri-food industry at the forefront of the twin transition skills revolution
The agri-food industry plays a critical role in driving the twin green and digital transitions, positioning itself at the forefront of a skills revolution that is reshaping the European workforce. Recognising this, the European Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food aims to enhance both the attractiveness and global competitiveness of the EU’s agricultural sector[1]. A central component of this strategy is the focus on reskilling and upskilling, facilitated through initiatives such as the Union of Skills. Despite its importance, the agricultural sector has been slower than others in adopting digital technologies, resulting in a persistent skills gap and underutilisation of innovation across the food system. The Vision highlights that “the adoption of digital tools lags behind in agriculture and other parts of the food system […] Addressing skills shortages and mismatches in the farming sector through anticipation and dedicated investment in high-quality training and advice will be key to attract a new generation of talented farm entrepreneurs, and build a competitive, sustainable and resilient agriculture and food system.”
To bridge these gaps, the Commission emphasizes the anticipation of future skill needs, coupled with targeted investments in high-quality training, advisory services, and lifelong learning opportunities. But which skills are needed in the agri-food industry for the twin transition and how can adult education help meet these needs?
Current skills trends in agri-food industry: CEDEFOP Skills-OVATE Tool
It is well-know that digital skills in the EU are becoming increasingly essential, with the EU Digital Decade Policy Programme aiming to ensure that 80% of adults possess at least basic digital skills by 2030[2]. Moreover, CEDEFOP indicated in a 2024 study that specific skills related to advanced technologies, including AI are having a stronger impact on manual jobs in the coming years, yet few adults in these sectors have undergone specific training.[3] This indicates an urgent need for reskilling and upskilling for the working population in not only basic digital skills, but advanced ones too.
CEDEFOP has developed the Skills-OVATE, an online tool to explore skills needs and trends across Europe, from labour market and educational trends. The tool[4] lets you explore different skills trends by occupations, skills, regions and sectors. When looking at the digitalness (how digital the role is by nature) and the digital pervasiveness (how widespread the use of digital technology is) for agri-food occupations, we see that all of the occupations have a higher pervasiveness compared to the digitalness. This implies that digital tools are widely used, but not core to the role. This means that digital tech is currently supporting, but not defining the work of many in the agri-food industry. For example, workers such as farmers may be frequently using machinery embedded with digital functions, such as GPS or sensors, but operating the machinery may be the core nature of the work. As such, there is a large opportunity for upskilling and transformation of the sector, by redesigning the roles to integrate more automation or data-driven processes.
Figure 1 CEDEFOP SKILLS-OVATE Tool. Data extracted on 16.6.2025 for the ISCO Codes 0C61 0C91.
In short, the agri-food industry presents an opportunity not only to reskill and upskill individuals in digital skills, but also to include digital decision-making, sustainable digitalisation and societal transformation to change the nature of the sector. In this way, it is a prime example of a sector that can spearhead the twin transition.
How can adult education support the twin transition in the agri-food sector?
In order to undergo shifts in economic, societal and environmental ways of working, a whole-system approach to a transition is needed. This includes ensuring that all decisions, including upskilling and reskilling approaches, recognise the inherit inequality between society and work to ensure a just and fair transition. Adult education seeks to combine skill-specific support for the digital and green transitions with a focus on inclusion, empowerment and social justice, as outlined in the European Association for the Education of Adult’s manifesto on adult learning in the 21st century. Adult learning and education (ALE) can be a powerful tool to combat inequalities which may be brought about by the twin transition. It holds significant potential to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and support societies in tackling major contemporary challenges, including population ageing, shifts in the labour market, digital transformation, global citizenship, and climate change. By offering diverse and flexible learning pathways, delivery formats, and systems for assessment and recognition, ALE creates ongoing opportunities for learners to build the skills and competences needed to succeed in the future[5].
As sustainability transitions are highly complex and uncertain, learning is needed to support individual transformation and promote action.[6] From this approach, ALE serves the twin transition as it can bridge knowledge and skills gaps through non-formal education, from an inclusive societal perspective that fosters active learners and citizens. Non-formal education refers to planned learning activities outside of the formal education system, which often work as an alternative or addition to formal education for people of all ages[7]. Such non-formal structures may lead to qualifications that are not recognised by national authorities or may lead to no qualifications. Considering the key role of ALE in addressing behavioural, societal and knowledge gaps for the twin transition, we need to ensure that adult educators have the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to integrate core competences for the twin transition into their pedagogical and teaching methods[8].
To this end, EAEA is a partner in the TWIN IN Erasmus+ project – Promoting Responsible TWIN Transitions in European agrifood systems through innovation and learning alliances. The ambitious three-year Alliance for Innovation Key Action 2 project aims to establish twin transition schools, developing and piloting curricula to prepare farmers for the digital and sustainable transition. EAEA, representing adult learning across Europe, brings the cross-sectoral approach to education and will lead the development of the toolkit including different pedagogical approaches to ensure that learners’ voices are included in all curricula.
Stay tuned on the project updates by following the project’s LinkedIn page!
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Cover photo was created on Canva following adequate licensing laws.
[1] EUR-Lex – 52025DC0075 – EN – EUR-Lex
[2] How to reach the EU target of 80% of adults with basic digital skills by 2030? – European Commission
[3] press_backgrounder_ai_surveypre_event.pdf
[4] Digitalness and digital pervasiveness in occupations | CEDEFOP
[5] Curriculum globALE: competency framework for adult educators – UNESCO Digital Library
[6] Moyer, J.M.; Sinclair, A.J. Learning for sustainability: Considering pathways to transformation. Adult Educ. Q. 2020, 70, 340–359. [CrossRef], cited in Can Adult Education Boost Sustainability Transitions? Some Evidence from Farmers and Teachers
[7] European Commission. (n.d.). Non-formal education | E-toolkit. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/non-formal-education_en
[8]European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA). (2024, July 24). EUROPEAN EDUCATION AREA: Adult Education and Learning for All Must Become a Top European Priority – EAEA Statement. Retrieved April 29, 2025, from https://eaea.org/2024/07/24/adult-education-and-learning-for-all/
Text: Charlotte Ede