I-RESTART partners met one last time in person in Brussels (BE) between April 21st and 22nd, 2026, for two major events: the Agri-Food Pact for Skills Conference, and the final Transnational Partners’ Meeting (TPM).
Hosted by the FoodDrinkEurope, the Agri-Food Pact for Skills Conference was an opportunity to address the European strategies, partnerships and future skills needs in the Agri-Food sector. Representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and from the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) were part of an expert panel of speakers that delved into some of the most important issues faced by the sector, including:
- The generational renewal in agriculture (in 2020, the average age of farmers was 57 years old, and only 12% were under the age of 40. Moreover, only 2.5% of farmers were women);
- The future of the Pact for Skills in Agrifood (with more than 100 members, it will continue fostering the sustainability and competitiveness of the sector, pushing for the empowerment of individuals to build a skilled workforce. As such, it will include the European Alliance for Apprenticeships as a way to ensure there is a critical mass in the Pact for Skills initiative);
- How the Union of Skills enable Europe’s competitiveness (it is imperative to provide people with lifelong learning opportunities and in-company training so they can develop the necessary technical and transversal skills to become competitive and support EU’s socio-economic growth).
This Conference also allowed participants to delve into important aspects such as the public-private cooperation for skills, and how to strengthen the Agri-food talent pipeline with support from the EU Skills Intelligence Hub.
Bottom line is, the sector can only thrive if individuals are provided with the necessary skills to be competitive – “you learn, you grow, you can be ambitious, and you can have wellbeing”.
The discussions held during the Pact for Skills Conference continued in the afternoon with a special focus on I-RESTART project, and on how it can impact the Agri-food sector – some of the project partners highlighted the strategical outcomes of I-RESTART, including its European Strategy and National Roadmaps.
The following day (April 22nd) was fully dedicated to the final TPM of the project, where partners had the opportunity to meet the Project Officer responsible for monitoring the progress of I-RESTART, and to discuss the main steps towards the conclusion of the project (in August 2026). As such, during this meeting all partners made an overview about the latest achievements (including the implementation of the project’s pilots and work-based learning experiences and their results), and planned the upcoming actions referring to planning stakeholders’ future engagement and exploitation, the European Strategy, support to the implementation of the Pact for Skills, cooperation with other initiatives, and dissemination and communication.
As partner responsible for the project’s Quality and Impact Work Package, EfVET made a presentation about the processes in place for the internal and external quality assessment and monitoring, and expected next steps related to the quality assessment of I-RESTART deliverables.
There is still a lot to be done in I-RESTART until August, so stay tunned and follow the project on its website, at https://www.erasmus-i-restart.eu/