In the most positive way possible, I presume that was the idea when a group of Icelandic salmon farming companies signed an agreement with a local high school that allows secondary school pupils to learn about aquaculture.

Fish farming and aquaculture are rapidly growing industries where there is a significant shortage of skilled workers – not only in Iceland. This is why a group of aquaculture and fishing companies, supported by the Regional Development Office, started the initiative and signed the deal with Ísafjörður High School. Their course will include topics around the ocean, environment and resources.

The companies stated that there is a great need for good, talented young people in the coming years in the industry.

And the need for a skilled workforce in the aquaculture industry is not limited to Iceland. As the situation in the European Union is not dissimilar. This is why the EIT Food-funded AGAPE project has the potential to make a positive impact. We already reported about the developments from the University of Peloponnese where under the leadership of Professor Spiros Sirmakessis and Panos Papadatos, members of the AGAPE project, have developed a taxonomy tool that will ultimately help to match job descriptions and skills, and thereby can contribute to closing the workforce gap.