Spotlight on National Dialogues: Shaping the Future of Digital Skills in Agriculture

As part of the SMARTLABOR project, two insightful focus group discussions were organized by IMPETUS and held on July 3, 2024, in Skopje—bringing together voices from academia, business, civil society, and policymaking.

The focus group discussion convened national stakeholders to explore skills gaps and the integration of digital competencies into agricultural education and training, focusing on cross-border cooperation, digital innovations, and aligning agri-food practices with EU standards.

These conversations revealed a pressing challenge: the gap between the fast-changing digital skill demands of employers and the current capabilities of the agricultural workforce. Despite increasing digitalization in the sector, attracting workers with ICT backgrounds remains difficult—primarily due to lower wages compared to fields like IT and finance. The discussions were organized as focus groups, so each group participant had to answer specific questions. This method gave the participants complete engagement and solo time to reflect on the ongoings.

The recommendations and insights from these discussions were presented during the national paper launch, providing a foundation for future policy, education, and training strategies aimed at closing the digital skills gap in agriculture.

Stay tuned as SMARTLABOR continues to foster dialogue, promote innovation, and support a digitally skilled agri-food workforce across the region.

The event was organized with the support of the SMART Balkans project.