Promoting education, training and skills across the bioeconomy : policy brief.
Date: 2022-09-12
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU Member State, circular economy, digital literacy, economic growth, higher education, job creation, level of education, manpower needs, professional qualifications, sustainable development, updating of skills, vocational training

Promoting education, training 
and skills across the 
bioeconomy 

Strengthening sustainability and circularity in bioeconomy 

education and training across Europe to meet the ambitions of the 

European Green Deal 

Policy brief 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Promoting education, training and skills across the bioeconomy  – policy brief 

Strengthening  sustainability  and  circularity  in  bioeconomy  education  and  training  across  Europe  to  meet  the 
ambitions of the European Green Deal 

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 
Directorate B — Healthy Planet 
Unit B2 — Bioeconomy & Food Systems 
Contact  
Email  

RTD BIOECONOMY 
RTD BIOECONOMY@ec.europa.eu  
RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

Manuscript completed in September 2022  

This  document  has  been  prepared  for  the  European  Commission,  however  it  reflects  the  views  only  of  the  authors,  and  the 
European Commission shall not be liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse. 

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doi: 10.2777/026558 

KI-09-22-411-EN-N 

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Promoting education, training and 
skills across the bioeconomy 

Policy brief 

Edited by Deloitte, empirica and FGB 

List of authors (in alphabetical order) 

Deloitte 

empirica 

Fondazione Giacomo 
Brodolini 

Indira de Graaf 

Alexander Cuartas-Acosta  

Liga Baltina  

Angeliki Papadimitriou 

Tobias Hüsing 

Ivan Diego 

Sebastiaan van der Peijl 

Werner Korte 

Terence Hogarth 

Stefan Lilischkis 

Enrica Imbert 

Luana Ladu 

Piergiuseppe Morone 

2022 

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. The role of skills in driving bioeconomy growth 

The bioeconomy, as a catalyst for systemic change, tackles the economic, social and environmental 
aspects of the European Green Deal, seeking new ways of producing and consuming resources while 
respecting our planet’s limits and moving away from a linear economy based on extensive use of fossil 
and mineral resources.1 As defined in the European Commission’s updated Bioeconomy Strategy of 
2018, the bioeconomy covers “all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources (animals, plants, 
micro-organisms  and  derived  biomass,  including  organic  waste),  their  functions  and  principles.  It 
includes and interlinks land and marine ecosystems and the services they provide; all primary production 
sectors  that  use  and  produce  biological  resources;  and  all  economic  and  industrial  sectors  that  use 
biological resources and processes to produce food, feed, bio-based products, energy and services.”2 

The transition to a sustainable and circular bioeconomy will be achieved through the five goals of the 
EU Bioeconomy Strategy: 

•  Ensuring food and nutrition security; 
•  Managing natural resources sustainably; 
•  Reducing dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources; 
•  Limiting and adapting to climate change; 
•  Strengthening European competitiveness and create jobs. 

This  transition  presents  opportunities  for  jobs  and  economic    growth.  In  particular,  the  Bioeconomy 
Strategy forecasts that one million new jobs could be created by 2030, supported by the “strong and 
fast-growing start-up ecosystem in the biotechnology sector”3. 

Taking advantage of these growth opportunities and associated ecological and societal benefits will only 
be possible if those entering the bioeconomy workforce have the right mix of skills. As the bioeconomy 
is not a homogeneous entity, a variety of different specialist skills will be needed to meet the demands 
of  specific  sectors  and  regions.  For  example,  some  of  the  technical  bioeconomy  skills  needs  in 
agriculture  will be  different to those  in,  e.g., the textiles or bio-electricity sectors.  In addition to these 
specialist  skills,  a  common  set  of  generalist  skills  will  become  increasingly  important  given 
commonalities in the nature of the transformation needed across the bioeconomy. The most important 
generalist skills are set out in Figure 1. 

1   European  Commission,  Factsheet,  How  the  bioeconomy  contributes  to  the  European  Green  Deal, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/66722c8d-2e03-11eb-
b27b-01aa75ed71a1   

2   European 

Commission, 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0673,  A  sustainable  Bioeconomy  for  Europe:  Strengthening  the 
connection between economy, society and the environment, which was an update of COM(2012)60, Innovating 
for  Sustainable  Growth:  A  Bioeconomy 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52012DC0060 

for  Europe,  13.02.2012, 

Bioeconomy 

Strategy 

Updated 

2018, 

3   Source: A sustainable bioeconomy for Europe - Publications Office of the EU (europa.eu) 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 1: Core generalist skills for the future bioeconomy 

2. Understanding the current and future skills needs of the European bioeconomy 

The evidence collected by this study shows that there is a gap between the specialist and generalist 
bioeconomy skills that will be needed in the future, and the skills currently provided by higher education 
(HE) and vocational education and training (VET) courses4. This gap is set to continue and even grow 
as the need to become more sustainable and resilient increases and new technologies and approaches 
are developed, thereby increasing the demand for new skills. Whilst some good case studies have been 
explored, our mapping has identified that there is limited number of bioeconomy modules and courses 
across HE and VET. The entrepreneurship training across both education types is also usually offered 
as a minor, optional course. 

This evolving skills demand will have different impacts for each education type. In particular, this study 
projects that the relative demand for people with higher-level qualifications (EQF level 5 and above) will 
continue to increase up to 2030 and the demand for people with medium-level qualifications (EQF levels 
3 and 4) will remain important and relatively stable. This is illustrated in Figure 2, which shows that the 
share of those employed in the bioeconomy who have higher-level qualifications is projected to grow 
from 16% in 2020 to 24% in 2030. The proportion with medium-level qualifications is projected to shrink 
slightly from 54% in 2020 to 51% in 20305. 

4   Note: study analysis was based on the following 10 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the 
Netherlands, Slovakia, and Spain. Selection took into account the existance of relevant national policies; the country’s ranking 
in the EU Innovation Scoreboard; and the general market conditions  indicated by the country’s index value achieved in the 
IMD World  Competitiveness  index.  Finally,  the  study  team  ensure  that  the  final  list  contained  a  good  geographical  spread 
across the EU. 

5   Source: CEDEFOP skills forecast; own calculations 

3 

 
 
                                                           
Figure 2 - Employment by qualification level in the bioeconomy – projection to 2030 (Source: see 
footnote 2). Note ‘high’ refers to EQF level 5 and above, ‘medium’ refers to EQF levels 4 and 5, 
and ‘low’ refers to EQF level 3 and below. 

t
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51 

9 

2010

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54 

16 

2020

High Medium

Low

25 

51 

24 

2030

These trends  will be seen  to different degrees in  different bioeconomy sub-sectors. Sectors such  as 
traditional  manufacturing  will  experience  an  increase  in  the  share  of  people  working  in  highly  skilled 
occupations, but it is still largely dependent upon people working in medium-skilled, technician-like jobs 
whose  incumbents  are  more  likely  to  have  a  VET  qualification.  In  contrast,  sectors  such  as  food 
technologies, bio-tech and bio-energy are more dependent upon people working in high-skilled jobs and 
this is likely to increase further in the future.  

There  are  also  changes  taking  place  in  the  content  of  the  skills  required.  Technological  change  is 
transforming the bioeconomy and facilitating the shift towards more sustainable and circular business 
models. This is creating a range of new skill demands linked to using those technologies and exploiting 
the opportunities they afford. For example, the demand for more data analysts is evident as technologies 
such  as  drones  generate  increasing  volumes  of  data  to  support  decision  making.  Similarly,  artificial 
Intelligence,  Big  Data,  robotics,  advanced  materials,  and  industrial  biotech,  are  among  fields  where 
technology will most likely alter skills composition, demanding rapid responses by education and training 
institutions when adjusting curricula. 

Looking  beyond  2030  to  2050,  there  is  a  high  degree  of  uncertainty  around  how  skills  demands  will 
develop. This future pathway will depend on future policy developments in Europe, as well as ecological 
and demographic trends. Assuming that the EU remains on track to achieve the goals of the European 
Green Deal, including climate neutrality in 2050, the direction of travel set out above is likely to continue, 
with  increased  demand  for  core  sustainability  skills,  understanding  of  new  technologies,  and 
entrepreneurial and business skills. 

Higher education institutions need to promote transdisciplinarity 

For  HE  in  particular,  the  study  findings  demonstrate  that  future  bioeconomy  education  requires  a 
pronounced emphasis on systems thinking 6, local bioeconomy aspects, technological and digital skills 
and the inclusion of ethical aspects of using biological resources.  Additionally, transversal skills, i.e., 
those  used  in  a  broad  range  of  situations  and  work  settings,  are  considered  necessary  to  support 
thorough professional profiles. Examples include critical thinking, collaboration, planning (and project 
management skills), adaptability and readiness for continuous learning. 

6   As defined by Arnold and Wade (2015), systems thinking is “a set of synergistic analytic skills used to improve the capability of 
identifying  and  understanding systems,  predicting  their  behaviours,  and  devising  modifications  to  them  in  order  to  produce 
desired effects. These skills work together as a system”. Systems thinking goes hand in hand with a holistic approach that is 
inclusive and looks at all possible outcomes with respect to environmental, social, and economic sustainability dimensions. 

4 

 
                                                           
 
Results also found that there is scope to further mainstream the bioeconomy thinking throughout 
curricula. Besides offering subjects of different topics as part of the electives (e.g., economics courses 
for  engineering  students),  Higher  Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  need  to  stimulate  transdisciplinarity 
throughout academic modules. By doing so, HEIs can promote multi-faceted approaches to intertwined 
social  phenomena,  leading  to  strong  analytical  and  problem-solving  skills  that  connect  multiple 
perspectives,  help  identify  potential  synergies  and  foster  solutions  that  can  deliver  co-benefits  while 
minimising trade-offs. 

Although there is general agreement about the relative high relevance of systems thinking and circular 
economy as cornerstones of the bioeconomy, the research found that higher education should provide 
additional content around these topics, as well as bioeconomy services and other sustainability aspects 
in  the  future.  Additionally,  in  an  increasingly  digital  society,  data  literacy  skills  are  pivotal  to  facing 
bioeconomy challenges (e.g., identify unmet needs, markets and business opportunities). Ethical and 
legal considerations when using biological resources are also very relevant, suggesting that curricula 
need to integrate these components further and adapt teaching resources accordingly. These findings 
coincide with the increased attention of concepts such as Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) 
and, for example, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Lastly, findings point to the need to increase 
the uptake of practice-oriented teaching methods that stimulate creativity and resourcefulness and to 
tackle global problems through local solutions, contributing to the deployment of local bioeconomies. 
Figure 3 presents these results quantitatively. 

Figure 3: Topics with largest gaps between desired future and status quo, as expected per expert 
assessment. 

Note: own  elaboration  based on survey  data  targeting  bioeconomy  experts from  the  ten countries  analysed.  All 
values  are  measured  on  a  5-point  scale,  where  higher  values  indicate  more  agreement  with  the  respective 
statement for the period considered. ‘Today’ refers to current state of affairs and serves as a comparison reference, 
whereas ‘Future’ is used for 2030 and beyond. Only items with highest ranking gaps per domain are reported here. 

Taking these findings as a starting  point, an essential step towards crystallising  recommendations is 
spelling  out  the  needs  and  expectations  of  the  European  bioeconomy  HE  in  the  future  (2030  and 
beyond), which across the strands of research can be summarised as follows: 

•  Going  forward:  there  is  increasingly  a  need  for  systemic  thinkers  for  grand  societal  challenges. 
Therefore,  dot-connectors  and  solvers  of  wicked  problems  are  necessary  for  the  bioeconomy  to 
thrive. 

•  Speeding  up  the  transition  towards  a  circular  bioeconomy  requires  both  bioeconomy  generalists 
and  specialists.  Deep  technical,  scientific  and  engineering  expertise  will  not  cease  to  be  the 
profession's foundation, but cross-disciplinary, cross-silo facilitators are also needed.  

5 

 
•  There is also an  increasing need for transversal skills to deal  with complexity  across disciplines, 

stakeholders, and systems. 

•  Also,  enabling  skills  matter,  and  this  included  strong  ethical,  legal  and  finance  skills,  to  be 

complemented with data literacy or AI skills. 

In a complex, fast evolving field like bioeconomy the HEIs need to permanently reflect and interact with 
their  environment.  Therefore,  they  should  ensure  to  respond  to  technological  disruption  by  adjusting 
curricula  while  engaging  with  policy  systems  and  respective  instruments  (e.g.,  EU  and  national 
bioeconomy strategies, European Skills Agenda).  

Vocational education and training systems must be able to respond in a timely and agile 
manner to the needs of the bioeconomy 

Study  findings  show  that  the  skill  needs  VET  will  need  to  deliver  are  varied:  from  those  required  in 
primary  production  (e.g.  agroecology,  precision  and  vertical  farming),  food  manufacturing  (e.g. 
manufacturing new kinds of protein), biotechnology (e.g. bio-based pharmaceuticals), to energy (e.g. 
bio-electricity). Given ongoing technology and policy developments, continuing education and training 
will be particularly important, with those already working in the bioeconomy needing to be reskilled to 
avoid their skills becoming outdated.  

This will place pressure on VET systems to develop: 

• 

• 

courses or modules in initial VET (IVET) for young people considering their future careers; 

continuing VET (CVET) provision to update the skills of those already working in the bioeconomy, 
and provide training to those looking to transfer into it from other sectors. 

Table 1 summarises the results of foresight activity carried out for this study, in which experts provided 
their views on the skills which are likely to be important in a future bioeconomy over the period to 2030  
and beyond if it has been able to take advantage of the opportunities available. The blue-shaded cells 
indicate those skill sets where there was a high degree of consensus that these skills will be important 

Table 1: Emerging skills needs associated with VET in specific bioeconomy subsectors  

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Energy management / conservation 

Energy production 

Food science  

Hospitality and tourism  

Materials science  

Soil management 

Traditional food processing  

Traditional skills related to agriculture 

Waste management  

Water management 

ICT  

Data analysis 

Use of drones 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Use of sensor technologies (e.g. in precision 
farming) 
Driving specialist vehicles 

Language skills 

Entrepreneurship 

Environmental auditing 

Logistics and transport 

Management 

Marketing  

Packaging and labelling  

Risk management  

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Key: √√√ very important / √√ important / √ less important / X not mentioned. Blue shading was added for the ‘very important’ 
cells – to visually illustrate skill sets where there was a high degree of consensus that these skills will be important. 

Source: DG RTD Skills in Bioeconomy Foresight – Second Round Survey 

The transition to a sustainable bioeconomy requires entrepreneurial thinking 

Entrepreneurship  education  can  be  defined  as  teaching  and  learning  “the  capacity  to  act  upon 
opportunities and ideas, and transform them into value for others”7. This includes learning how to start 
a  new  business.  Study  findings  from  literature,  case  studies  and  interviews  suggest  that  the 
bioeconomy transition requires entrepreneurial thinking and action in all sectors: in business, in 
public administration, in educational institutions, and in civil society. In business, new enterprises with 
new products and processes must be led by well-trained entrepreneurs. This applies, for example, to 
the opportunities for new business models in the course of the current shift from product ownership to 
access.  Established  enterprises  seeking  to  switch  to  sustainable  or  circular  processes  may  need 
“intrapreneurs” 
innovation.  Public 
administrations  may  need  “governpreneurs”  who  introduce  innovative  policies  for  the  bioeconomy. 
Educational  institutions  may  need  entrepreneurial  directors  and  educators  to  shift  curricula  towards 
sustainability, circularity, systems thinking, and also to more entrepreneurial education. Civil society 
and  civil  society  organisations  may  benefit  from  social  entrepreneurs  who  introduce  non-profit 
solutions  to  those  ecological  issues  that  cannot  be  solved  by  commercial  means.  This  means  that 
entrepreneurship skills should be taught across the full range of bioeconomy programmes. 

the  necessary  organisational  change  and 

to  manage 

3. Delivering the bioeconomy skills through HE and VET programmes 

The study mapped bioeconomy programmes across 10 countries in Europe (Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, 
Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Spain)  and found that mainstreaming 
of  bioeconomy  education  and  training  is  currently  limited  across  all  education  types,  with  only  20 
dedicated bioeconomy HE programmes mapped in total, and a greater prevalence of courses focused 
on  specific  sub-sectors  within  VET  than  on  the  bioeconomy  as  a  whole.  Whilst  good  examples  of 
entrepreneurial  training  were  found,  only  a  small  minority  of  the  total  number  of  mapped  study 
programmes considered incorporated entrepreneurship as a principal programme element. 

More will need to be done to mainstream bioeconomy education across Europe, particularly in countries 
with high biomass potential, and in local and regional areas, where accessible and bespoke education 
and training offers will be key to unlocking economic and wider benefits. 

The  increasing  and  changing  skill  needs  of  the  bioeconomy  also  reinforces  the  need  to  ensure  that 
bioeconomy education and training is  adaptable to meet  the needs of different  sub-sectors, regional 
differences, and occupation levels. There are a number of common conclusions that can be drawn 
for all bioeconomy programmes to facilitate this: 

7   Quoted from The European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, see European Union (2018), p. 3. 

https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1317&langId=en 

7 

 
                                                           
Figure 3: key findings for curricula development 

The  success  of  bioeconomy  training  programmes  is  also  dependent  on  the  level  of  demand  from 
students to enroll in these courses.  It will be important for education and training providers, employers, 
and governments to persuade a sufficient number of prospective learners to take bioeconomy options 
and modules in their studies. Similarly, there is a need to persuade employers of the merits of upskilling 
and reskilling their workforces if they are to keep up to date with developments in the bioeconomy.  

Finally, to meet the needs of local and regional bioeconomy sectors, it will also be important to ensure 
there are sufficient opportunities to access bioeconomy training and education in rural areas, given this 
is where many bioeconomy producers are based. 

4. Recommendations 

Cross-cutting recommendations 

The study includes several cross-cutting recommendations that apply across HE and VET. They are 
divided into recommendations for policy makers (at the EU-, national-, regional- and local levels), as 
well as recommendations targeted at HE and VET providers 

Recommendations for policy makers 

1. Make long-term skills commitments in bioeconomy- and related strategies to strengthen skills-
related initiatives.  

These commitments should build on existing policy framework and networks, including those developed 
at the EU level, such as European Commission’s Pact for Skills, The Erasmus+ Blueprint Programme 
on Sector Skills Alliances, and the BioEast Initiative. Regions and local areas – particularly those with 
high  biomass  potentials  –  should  consider  how  these  national  commitments  should  be  tailored  and 
implemented  to  meet  their  needs  and  contexts  (for  example,  following  the  model  adopted  by  some 
federal  German  states  in  adopting  their  own  dedicated  bioeconomy  strategies).  To  ensure  that  the 
strategies can continually evolve in line with emerging skills needs, they should include plans that bring 
different stakeholders together to share knowledge and best practice, including those from education 
and  training  institutions.  For  example,  one  option  for  national  governments  could  be  to  establish  a 
national advisory board including experts from HE and VET to support policy making.  

2.  Monitor  impacts  of  different  approaches  and  disseminate  data  and  best  practices  across 
Europe, including a one-stop shop for talent monitoring and sharing best practices. 

The  EU  should  also  implement  a  ‘European  observatory’  as  a  one-stop-shop  for  bioeconomy  talent 
monitoring and benchmarking. This should contain available data on bioeconomy skills (including from 
Erasmus+  and  Blueprint  studies)  and  should  be  regularly  updated  to  support  skills  forecasting.  The 

8 

 
Observatory should include data on workforce development and demand to enable forecasts for the EU 
and Member States to identify emerging skill needs in the bioeconomy and compare this to available 
supply.  Examples  of  best  practice  should  also  be  identified  through  this  one-stop  shop,  and 
disseminated across European networks (with the support of national and regional bodies). 

3. Promote the merits of the bioeconomy, including by delivering awareness-raising activities 
and embedding the bioeconomy within careers guidance for young people and adults 

National  and  regional  governments,  supported  by  schools  and  youth  organisations,  and  recruitment 
agencies,  should  embed  bioeconomy-relevant  information  within  careers  services  and  engagement 
campaigns  for  young  people  and  adults.  This  should  include  promoting  the  wide  range  of  career 
opportunities related to the bioeconomy, as well as the skills and qualifications needed to do specific 
jobs,  including  entrepreneurship  skills.  Awareness-raising  is  essential  if  relevant  stakeholders  are  to 
recognise the importance for society of becoming active on an important topic such as ‘bioeconomy” 
and  the  skills  needed.  Easy-to-understand  messages  should  excite  opinion-formers  and  audiences, 
including individuals, to convince them to study bioeconomy and acquire the relevant skills. Role models 
could reinforce the impact as well as relevant business cases and success stories. 

Recommendations for HE and VET providers 

1.  Support  individualised  learning  by  developing  new  bioeconomy  learning  paths,  modules, 
learning nuggets, and micro-credentials for certification, including on entrepreneurship. These 
should be shared to be used across a range of bioeconomy courses.  

This should build on the initiative the European Commission has launched on micro-credentials as an 
integral part of the European Education Area. The intention to develop a European approach to micro-
credentials was announced in the Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation 
in education and training, as well as the Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-
credentials for lifelong learning and employability. 8 

For  HE,  students  should  be  empowered  to  create  their  own  learning  path,  for  a  Master's  study  at  a 
minimum. For VET, this should include facilitating and support work-based training pathways, such as 
apprenticeships, which enable individuals to acquire skills with economic value.  

2.  Use  varied  teaching  methods  to  develop  skills,  including  problem-  and  practice-oriented 
teaching and learning.  

This  could  include,  for  example,  letting  students  work  together  (without  direct  instruction)  to  solve 
challenges  related  to  local  or  regional  biomass  potential,  in  close  cooperation  with  enterprises,  local 
authorities  and  civil  society  actors.  In  particular,  programme  providers  should  teach  “solution 
competence”,  i.e.  competences  in  creating  solutions  that  exploit  local  capabilities  and  potential  for 
concrete problems running across different sectors, for example as done via Science Shops. Such real-
life  challenges  would  enable  students  to  gain  resourcefulness  skills,  besides  equipping  them  with  a 
systemic understanding of how research for novel solutions interacts with other relevant aspects, such 
as financial, scalability and commercialisation matters. 

3.  Boost  high-quality  bioeconomy  training,  including  ‘train  the  trainer’  and  ensuring  the 
provision of up-to-date training materials and modules. 

Within strong ecosystems there is scope for employers and education and training providers to work 
together  to  ensure  that  trainers  have  access  to  the  latest  technologies  and  know-how.  For  HE  in 
particular,  there  is  a  need  to  train  bioeconomy  educators  to  equip  them  better  to  apply  new,  more 
practice-oriented methods and transdisciplinary content, and adopt problem-oriented and project-based 
teaching.  As  the  focus  of  teaching  changes  away  from  the  educator  to  the  students,  the  role  of  the 
educators needs to change as well. The educator of the future may well be a manager of the student’s 
self-learning  process.  Applied  universities  are  better  positioned  in  this  respect  than  traditional 
universities, but the need for change applies equally to both. For VET, it will also be important for trainers 

8   Further 

information  can  be 

found  at  https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/06/16/council-
recommends-european-approach-to-micro-credentials/,  as  well  as  here    in    Digital  Education  Action  Plan  (2021-2027) 
(https://education.ec.europa.eu/node/1518). 

9 

 
                                                           
to be equipped to teach emerging skills, in particular in relation to new technologies, processes, societal 
needs and expectations. 

Specific recommendations for education and training providers, supported by policy makers 

Recommendations for higher education providers 

1. Co-develop transdisciplinary curricula for bioeconomy specialists and generalists to enrich 
content:  Deep  technical  and  scientific  expertise  will  remain  the  basis  of  professionality,  but  cross-
disciplinary, cross-silo facilitators are needed. Generalist core skills (see Figure 1), as weel as social 
science, ethical, legal, finance, data analysis and artificial intelligence skills are also required. 

2. Foster transversal and enabler skills: HE providers should ensure that curricula are designed to 
develop  skills  such  as  communication,  system  and  critical  thinking,  collaboration,  planning  and 
adaptability to deal with the complexity across academic disciplines and economic sectors. 

3. Become stronger actors in professional further education: HEI providers should become stronger 
actors in professional further education. They should increasingly promote and recognise the uptake of 
innovative  approaches  to  acquire  new  skills  throughout  life,  such  as  micro-credentials  (and 
corresponding digital badges).  This would ensure that professionals can deepen their bioeconomy skills 
on the job in response to emerging challenges and opportunities in the bioeconomy. 

Recommendations for vocational education and training providers 

1.  Support  agile  curriculum  development:  National  bodies  should  develop  mechanisms  for 
curriculum development that allow and support VET providers in incorporating emerging bioeconomy 
skills needs into VET modules, courses and programmes in a timely manner. This may well necessitate 
allowing  local  variation  in  the  delivery  of  national  programmes.  Co-creation  of  the  bioeconomy 
curriculum / curricula is important. This needs to include VET providers and those from the industry side. 
A local / regional Pact for Skills in the bioeconomy might be one way forward here.  

2. Develop a strong VET work-based pathway: EU and national bodies should continue to facilitate 
and support work-based training pathways, such as apprenticeships, which enable individuals to acquire 
skills with economic and social value. This should include incorporating modules or options relevant to 
the bioeconomy within existing work-based training and apprenticeship programmes. 

3. Develop Bioeconomy Centres of Vocational Excellence (COVEs): National and regional bodies 
should  develop  COVEs  to  concentrate  often  scarce  expertise  by  bringing  together  employers  and 
trainers to share knowledge and know-how. This would relieve some pressure on other VET institutions 
to  develop  and  deliver  courses  and  programmes,  which  address  emerging  skills  needs.  Via  COVEs 
there is greater potential to include  VET providers in R&D related to the bioeconomy,  which has the 
potential to increase their knowledge base. 

4. Develop the path to a high skill, high productivity bioeconomy: National bodies should develop 
brokerage  and  signposting  services  to  support  employers  in  the  bioeconomy  in  investing  in  their 
employees’ skills. This could include ensuring employers are aware of the need for, and the benefits of, 
training their workforces, as well as highlighting relevant training courses. This is something which might 
be best developed at a local / regional level. 

Recommendations for entrepreneurship education 

There are a number of specific entrepreneurship recommendations that are related to the cross-cutting 
recommendations, including: 

1. Ensuring strategies and roadmaps at the EU- and national level include plans for entrepreneurship 
education in bioeconomy 

2. Ensuring bioeconomy students have access to high-quality entrepreneurship teaching. 

3. Encouraging networking and cooperation as part of entrepreneurship and bioeconomy studies. 

4. Monitoring and sharing good practices across Europe. 

10 

 
The study also recommends two additional recommendations to boost entrepreneurship education: 

1.  Develop  extra-curricular  support  to  entrepreneurial  bioeconomy  students:  Education  and 
training institutions should provide  extra-curricular offers in entrepreneurship. This can include events 
and personal support, as well as indirect means to foster students’ entrepreneurial mindsets such as 
makerspaces and local challenges. Education institutions can increase the visibility and stability of such 
offers by bundling and branding them and providing a dedicated location for them. 

2. Communicate the benefits of entrepreneurship education for the bioeconomy: All organisations 
and groups in the field of education should communicate what entrepreneurship education is and why 
it  is  important  for  the  bioeconomy  and  society.  Findings  show  ongoing  reservations  around 
entrepreneurship in general and entrepreneurship education in particular. A wider awareness needs to 
be developed that entrepreneurship is about seeking opportunities for the benefit of society and that it 
is not just about starting a new company. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
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