The farming profession is undergoing fundamental change. Digitalisation, increasing complexity and new demands on farm management and staff require far more than just practical skills. What skills will be needed in future, and how well do vocational training and university courses prepare students for them?
The farming profession has always been demanding. However, what needs to be taught or learnt today in vocational training, technical colleges, university courses and on-the-job experience is currently changing at a pace that many in the sector are aware of but often find difficult to grasp.
Future farm managers, farm successors and senior staff still need solid practical skills. At the same time, the context in which these skills must be applied is changing: growing bureaucracy, technological progress, increasing demands on management and leadership, and economic pressure. Agriculture is becoming more complex, and so too are the skills that young people need to acquire as they enter the profession.
“We cannot simply carry on as before,” says Svea Lynn Schaffner, project manager at “Farmwissen” at Kiel University of Applied Sciences (HAW Kiel), who has been working intensively for years on digital learning and knowledge formats in agriculture. “Markets operate differently today, the political framework is constantly changing, and at the same time climate change is altering the biological foundations of production.”
Johannes Ritz, a recruitment consultant for the agricultural sector and a long-standing advisor to farms and farm managers, has also observed a profound transformation. In his view, the job profile is shifting significantly away from the traditional ‘jack-of-all-trades’: ‘Farms are still looking for generalists, but there are fewer and fewer of them.’
Both statements essentially describe the same trend – just from different perspectives. Whilst Ritz focuses primarily on structural change, specialisation and corporate management, Schaffner turns his attention to digitalisation, process understanding and technological adaptability. Together, this raises a key question for vocational training and higher education: how well do today’s educational pathways prepare students for a profession that is increasingly evolving from that of a practical all-rounder towards a complex management role?
Agriculture remains a practical profession
Crop production, livestock management, an understanding of technology and specialist biological knowledge continue to form the basis. Yet in many places, this is no longer sufficient. Successful farms today must be capable of much more. “It’s no longer just about the pure production of food,” says Schaffner. “There’s much more to it these days. Bureaucracy, digital literacy, leadership and business management processes.” Ritz describes a similar trend – albeit from the perspective of farm organisation. In the past, it was often expected that staff would be proficient in as many areas as possible: pig farming, arable farming, technology and administration. But as farms grow in size and complexity increases, this model is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
“Successful farms are increasingly managing to map out processes and present them in a way that allows for replication,” says Ritz, referring, for example, to dairy farms. This refers not only to technology, but above all to organisation: clear lines of responsibility, defined procedures, structured communication and transparent quality standards.
This is changing the demands placed on managers and staff, as well as their training. There is a growing need for people who can understand the bigger picture, organise processes and lead teams.
Visible change through digitalisation
Just a few years ago, digitalisation was often discussed as a project for the future. Today, it permeates almost every area of day-to-day farm operations – from documentation and herd management to machine control and farm management – and should be taught accordingly in training programmes. The focus here is less on individual apps and more on a fundamental understanding of digital processes. “The greatest uncertainties do not lie in individual operational questions,” she says. “Rather, they lie in understanding the system behind it.” Data from machinery, field records, time recording or livestock management must be collated, processed and analysed. The introduction of new systems often fails not because of the technology, but due to a lack of time, a lack of guidance and uncertainty on the farms.
“Many people expect someone to simply recommend the right software to them,” says Schaffner. In fact, the first step is to clarify which processes actually need to be improved. Digitalisation requires that business processes are understood and deliberately designed. For Ritz, it is precisely this ability that will be key in the future. “I believe that an affinity for digitalisation and innovative thinking will be crucial skills,” he says. It is not a question of implementing every new technology straight away, but of remaining open to change and innovation and integrating them sensibly.
“Many young people naturally grow up with digital technologies, structures and processes and therefore expect to find them in the workplace too. On the other hand, older employees or managers are often sceptical about new technologies,” says Schaffner, describing tensions she observes time and again in companies. Furthermore, not every training company has yet reached the technical or organisational level required by the industry’s current direction.
Challenges faced by employers and companies
Many continued to seek ‘extra hands’ without clearly defining their own requirements. At the same time, applicants were becoming more specialised and expecting greater guidance. ‘Companies need to adapt,’ Ritz states clearly. Anyone wishing to attract qualified staff must create clear job profiles, define responsibilities and offer opportunities for development.
Apprenticeships have long since ceased to be merely about practical, technical guidance. Training companies are increasingly becoming places of learning and development, where young people are also expected to gain experience in communication, organisation and teamwork. “Collaboration between people, communication, team-building – these are becoming increasingly important,” says Schaffner.
There are significant differences between successful and less successful companies in this regard. Successful entrepreneurs are often characterised by their openness to dialogue, their willingness to delegate responsibility and their receptiveness to external input. “The companies that enjoy the most sustainable success are increasingly integrating more people into their decision-making processes. In future, success will stem less from being able to do everything yourself and more from successfully bringing together structures, people and processes,” he says.
Are apprenticeship and university studies sufficient preparation?
A sound basic education, practical experience, vocational training, technical college, university studies and personal development remain key building blocks of successful career paths. At the same time, entrepreneurial skills are often only developed outside traditional educational institutions – through networks, experience and exchanges with other businesses. “There is no specific training programme for becoming a successful entrepreneur,” he says. Schaffner identifies significant gaps, particularly in digital skills. Although new degree programmes and specialisations are emerging, digitalisation still plays a secondary role in many vocational schools. “Digitalisation isn’t even included in many curricula yet,” she criticises. The issue is not about adding an extra subject, but about integrating digital thinking naturally into all subject areas. For Schaffner, one thing is certain: “Anyone who resists digitalisation will be left behind.”
People change over the duration of their working lives
Johannes Ritz observes recurring stages of development which, in his view, also explain why expectations regarding work, responsibility and leadership can shift significantly with age. Priorities, expectations and resilience change roughly every seven years. “At seven you start school, at 14 you enter puberty, and at 21 you’re going full throttle,” he says, describing Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophical approach. In your early 20s, the focus is on gaining experience and proving yourself. By your late 20s, career and responsibility take centre stage. In your mid-30s, priorities often shift once again. Family, relationships or personal stability become more important. “That’s when your career has to be on track,” says Ritz.
Performance-oriented people in particular need to learn to pace themselves and create structures that work in the long term – even as their performance levels decline. This concept is particularly relevant to the agricultural sector. This is because many farms are still heavily characterised by the expectation that individuals must consistently deliver peak performance. Ritz sees this as a risk: those who constantly go ‘full throttle’ often cannot sustain this over decades. That is why issues such as the division of labour, clear responsibilities, leadership and effective processes will become more important in future. Not only for economic success, but also to ensure that farming remains attractive in the long term as a profession and a way of life.
Conclusion: Learning is a never-ending process
The pace of technological and organisational change makes continuous professional development virtually indispensable. At the same time, a lack of time, heavy workloads and an overload of information make it difficult for many farms to engage with new topics. This makes it all the more important to remain open to change, to contextualise developments and to apply knowledge in a targeted manner.
The challenge in the coming years lies not only in equipping young people with the necessary technical skills, but also in enabling them to cope with uncertainty, complexity and constant change.
