Profile of currently employed European Food Scientists and Technologists: Education, experience and skills

Abstract

The food & drink (F&D) sector in Europe ranks low in innovation and the European F&D industry has been losing importance in the global market. The food professionals, i.e., food scientists and technologists (FSTs), may not be meeting the varied demands of the sector. Here, we identify education, experience and skills of current FSTs and compare geographic regions and employment areas. Between 2009 and 2012, 287 questionnaires representing over 4000 FSTs were collected from employers in 16 countries. Analyses showed that more than 80% of FSTs have a university degree; but only in Industry in the Central European region are most degrees in food science/technology. More than half of FSTs, and almost 60% in the South, have less than 10 years’ experience. The most common FST job title is Quality Manager, but with several variations based on region and employment area. Among skills, the most common is Communicating; found in over 90% of FSTs in all regions and employment areas. Food Safety is the most common of the food sector-specific skills, present in more than 75% of FSTs, yet there are differences in food sector skills based on employment area. Overall, these data suggest similarities among currently employed food professionals throughout Europe; they are young and highly educated, but also differences, especially in their food sector-specific skills. An understanding of the current FST should contribute to the improvement of FST training and thus benefit the European food sector.

Are we doing our homework? An analysis of food engineering education in Brazil

“…Similar movements were also observed in different parts of the world, such as Europe, Americas and Oceania (Alves, Restivo, & da Silva, 2015;Borrego & Bernhard, 2011). It is interesting to note, however, that despite this, in the European Union, Flynn, Bejarano, Wahnstrom, Echim, and Quintas (2013) carried out a profile analysis of professionals in the field of Food Science and Technology in order to analyse why the sector exhibits low innovation rates when compared to other industries. Flynn et al (2013) suggested that the education of these professionals is on track.…”

“…As observed by Roos et al (2016) and Flynn et al (2013), the approach of academia and industry proves to be a determining factor in the professional training of the engineer.…”

“…In the international context, some authors suggested reduction of hours in the classroom could encourage students to pursue different activities such as voluntary work, practice in laboratories or in industry (following internship programs), as well as the development of research projects (introduction to science research) or even expe-IJFS October 2018 Volume 7 pages 1-16 (Flynn et al, 2013;Saguy et al, 2013;Saguy & Cohen, 2016). On the other hand, it is difficult to say if students willprefer more free time.…”

“…It is interesting to note, however, that despite this, in the European Union, Flynn, Bejarano, Wahnstrom, Echim, and Quintas (2013) carried out a profile analysis of professionals in the field of Food Science and Technology in order to analyse why the sector exhibits low innovation rates when compared to other industries. Flynn et al (2013) suggested that the education of these professionals is on track. However, it has not yet reached sufficient amplitude or required depth in soft skills, which encompass abilities such as leadership, teamwork, and proactivity, as well as resilience and communication skills.…”

Food science and technology students self-evaluate soft and technical skills

“…A survey of skills most desired by European employers in the food and drink sector showed communication to be the single most sought after skill (Flynn, Ruiz-Bejarano, et al, 2013). In the chemical industry, high level representatives listed communication as the number 1 personal skill for engineers (CEFIC, 2009) and, in Australia, communication is being integrated into some university engineering courses (Armstrong & Baillie, 2011).…”