About

The public interest for gastronomy has exploded over the last years and gastronomy has become increasingly present in the daily discourse in form of chef competitions on TV, sharing of food pictures in social media, food blogs and foodie communities. Chefs have also amplified their status internationally. Norway has been one of the leading nations in the most prestigious gastronomic competition in the world, Bocuse d’Or. Despite the increasing public interest for gastronomy and the Norwegian achievements on the international gastronomy stage the recruitment to food related education and businesses has decreased in the country. A recent report show that in Bergen 90% of the restaurants state that they struggle to find qualified staff. National reports also document a decrease in applications to food related VET education and increase in the number of drop out from the same studies. Europe face several challenges regarding skills development, employability and skills matching, also in the gastronomy sector. According to ‘A new skills agenda for Europe’ skills gaps and mismatch is severe and 40% of European employers report having difficulties finding people with the skills they need to grow and innovate. There is a stated need for more awareness of the good employment outcomes of Vocational Education and training (VET). Agricultural production and local food artisans are a requirement for a successful creative gastronomic sector, nevertheless low recruitment to this part of the food value chain is a common challenge for Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. Statista.com states a youth unemployment rate in Spain of 42.9 % in 2016 and 40.1% in Italy in 2016. However, increasing interest in gastronomy opens a possibility for gastronomy related businesses. With the right skills and an entrepreneurial mindset these possibilities may represent a contribution to the problem of youth unemployment in Spain and Italy. Based on these articulated challenges and needs the objectives of this project is to identify ways to increase the number of young people who makes VET in the food value chain their first choice of education and to secure a match in needed skills and offered education in the same value chain.
The target groups in this project are local, regional, national, European and international. The local target groups are food related business who are in need of qualified staff. In the education system target groups are VET teachers and both current students and future students. These target groups need improved skills match and an improved entrepreneurial mindset. In order to reach future students it is crucial to involve the “helpers”, i.e. the high school advisors and other public bodies which provide career guidance and advice. Regional target groups will be stakeholders who need to supply their regional business with well-educated and qualified staff, and to lower unemployment in the region. National policy makers in all participating countries will be target groups for the project. In Norway this is exemplified though the Ministry of Agriculture and food, the Ministry of education and research and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises who all have called for increased recruitment to the food value chain. On the European level, The Commission invited, through ‘A new skills agenda for Europe’, stakeholders and the public to a continuous consultation and dialogue. Internationally the 116 UNESCO creative cities is a target group through their interest in examples of collaboration projects within the network and especially the 18 gastronomy cites who welcome knowledge about gastronomy related education. All the cities participating in the project are members of the UNESCO network for creative cities as gastronomy cities. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) aims to strengthen cooperation with and among cities that have recognized creativity as a strategic factor of sustainable development as regards economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. By joining the network, cities acknowledge their commitment to sharing best practices, developing partnerships that promote creativity and the cultural industries, strengthening participation in cultural life and integrating culture in urban development plans. The five UCCN of Gastronomy in this project have identified both similar and different challenges, and on this basis found the most relevant activities to make the impact of the sharing of Best Practices as valuable as possible. This Erasmus+ application is a direct result of the motivation to further our collaboration and learn from each other. The different partners complement each other with different experiences and best practices within VET, entrepreneurship and skills matching from different parts of the food value chain. For instance, Dénia and Parma has no difficulty recruiting to chef education.