Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) is set to hold an event next week targeted at “future-proofing Ireland’s white gold”.
DII said the event’s aim is “bridging the gap between academic innovations and the modern practical needs of dairy and nutrition processors, all amidst rapidly evolving times.”
The organisation noted the “significant” changes to the industry over the last number of years, with demand rising rapidly for products such as whey rather than traditional items such as cream or cheese.
Because of that, DII argued that the Irish dairy industries unique selling points – such as its grass-based system and family farm models – are no longer as strong on the global front.
To combat that and ensure the industry remains both competitive and resilient on the global market, DII will unveil the findings of the four-year European Excellence in Dairy Learning (EEDL) project at the event.
The EEDL has being co funded by the EU with a range of partners across Ireland and Europe.
DII event
The event will act as a training framework for the next generation of talent within the dairy and nutrition sector.
The ‘landmark stakeholder briefing’ will target industry leaders, policy makers, and academic partners who are looking to tackle the pressing challenge of generational renewal and workforce upskilling.
“To stay competitive and resilient at a time of such competition for skills in Ireland, we need to evolve rapidly or die.
“This briefing provides a high-impact, interactive session where the industry can access ready to deploy tools to futureproof their operations in an era of new nutritional products, AI (artificial intelligence) and automation,” DII director, Conor Mulvihill said.
What to expect?
The event will take place Monday (October 5) from 11:00a.m to 2:00p.m in the Ibec headquarters, situated on Baggot Street Lower, Dublin.
Attendees at the briefing will gain a first-hand overview of a variation of tools designed to immediately benefit Irish agri-businesses.
These tools include:
DII has said that the ready-to-use upskilling is comprised of 18 fully developed, expert-curated training courses, designed to streamline the onboarding of new hires.
Meanwhile, when it comes to attracting new talent, DII will provide attendees with insights into leveraging the new ‘Dairy Academy’ framework.
This framework is designed to to nurture those in research and development careers, as well as attracting a fresh new generation to the sector.
The ‘shaping the agenda’ segment will provide a unique opportunity for businesses to directly inform organisers of emerging skills needed on the factory floor and influence ongoing workforce planning.
To round out the day, attendees will have the option of staying on an extra hour until 3:00p.m for some interactive, hand-on demonstrations.
This will include the exploration of the Dairy Learning Hub, which is an expansive online materials library, as well as virtual training modules.
Members of the dairy industry interested in the day are urged to register their attendance online for the free event.