Where and Whenthe Ideal Food Scientist is Trained

Results from The TRACK_FAST Project

Food Manufacturing and Safety Summit, 12 February 2013

The European Association for Food Safety

a non-profit, non-governmental international organisation since 2002

Dr. Katherine Flynn, Scientific Secretary

Oddur Màr Gunnarsson, Secretary General

• SAFE consortium– Mission and Objectives

• Training the Ideal Food Scientist / Food Technologist (FST)– Workshops where FST employers “brainstorm” their ideal– Analysis of thousands of data points– Soft Skills and Food Sector-Specific Skils in the ideal FST – Where and when and how to get these skills

The Mission of the SAFE consortium:

“Stimulate the public debate in Europe and World-wide on the scientific aspects of food safety, by making available up-to-date knowledge from institutes whose scientific integrity is guaranteed by the unlimited right to publish in the public interest”.

Writing position papers,vision documents, etc.

Hosting workshops,seminars, congresses

Participating in European projects

The SAFE consortium is• A platform of research bodies: institutes, universities, national

and international societies and research groups or departments within these institutions.

• An independent spokesman for food safety research In Europe to the benefit of the public, dealing with ‘food safety’ in its broadest terms

• Strengthening food safety-related research in Europe, science-based European food safety policy setting and regulations, and up-to-date food safety research policies and programming.

Where and Whenthe Ideal Food Scientist is Trained

Katherine Flynn and Mihaela Geicu

The European Association for Food Safety, SAFE consortium Brussels BelgiumUniversity of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Bucharest, Romania

• Food industry is the largest manufacturing sector in Europe • Must have professionals with appropriate skills

16 Brainstorming Workshops in 16 countries in 2010-11

• Over 300 Food Scientists & Technologists (FSTs) participated in a ½ day workshop on FST skills, knowledge and competences

• “… Each Workshop will have the objective of producing a draft document of … ‘ideal’ FST competencies desired by the varied job market segments …and when and where these competencies should be acquired.”

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Methods

• Invite FST supervisors from 4 employment areas:- Government - Industry- Research - Other (distribution, retail)

CENTRAL EAST NORTH SOUTH

Austria Hungary Belgium Greece

France Lithuania Netherlands Italy

Germany Romania Sweden Portugal

Slovenia Turkey UK Spain

Workshop Participation

10

Gov Ind Res OthTotal

AttendeesAustria 1 2 4 0 7Belgium 0 8 4 0 12France 2 0 0 5 7Germany 1 4 7 0 12Greece 2 5 10 5 22Hungary 7 6 7 5 25Italy 2 4 4 0 10Lithuania 8 10 4 0 22Netherlands 0 1 1 1 3Portugal 4 14 5 3 26Romania 2 6 15 0 23Slovenia 5 7 6 5 23Spain 2 12 1 1 16Sweden 21 15 24 26 86Turkey 4 6 4 0 14UK 1 2 3 1 7

62 102 99 52 315

Total Numberof Skill Ideas

21618913217033654211921461

372341319208671206148

4244

Methods• Same instructions by the same

person in English• Brainstorming session to

identify ideal skills of FSTs in your organisation at• Low, medium and high

workplace responsibility

Simultaneous translation and/or slides, handouts, questions/discussions in local language

336 ideas from one workshop

Methods• Participants grouped by employment area• Choose a favourite ideal skill idea• Where, when, how, how often should that skill be obtained

Creativity

Courage to try a path with an unsure outcome

3 independent scientistseach matched every ideal skill idea to 1 of the 78 skills identified here

78 skills in 11 categories

5 SOFT SKILLS CATEGORIES 6 FOOD SKILLS CATEGORIES

1. Fundamental2. Personal Management3. Teamworking and

Interpersonal4. Business5. Pedagogical

6. Food Quality and Food Safety7. Research & Development8. Food Production and

Manufacturing9. Food Retail and the Supply Chain10. Logistics11. Food Processing Sectors

SOFT SKILLS

• many synonyms for soft skills: basic skills, generic skills, social graces, enabling skills, transferable skills, generalizable skills, personal characteristics, personal attributes, emotional intelligence, character traits,

• The cluster of personal qualities, habits, attitudes and social graces that make a person a good employee and compatible to work with.

Creativity

Courage to try a path with an unsure outcome

SOFT SKILLS 1. Fundamental2. Personal Management3. Teamworking and

Interpersonal4. Business5. Pedagogical

FUNDAMENTAL1.1 Communicating1.2 Managing Information1.3 Using Numbers1.4 Thinking & Solving Problems1.5 Providing Leadership1.6 Managing Personnel

1. University Degree Course Work

2. School Course Work Before Univesity Degree

3. University & Other School Extra-Curricular Activities

4. Workplace Training5. Government / Certification

Authorities6. Professional Organisations7. Non-Formal Training8. Personal Life9. Training Organisation

1. One Specific Time2. Occasional Events, Courses,

Activities or Seminars3. Repeated Events, Courses,

Activities or Seminars4. Continuously

Results

• 3348 ideal skill ideas analysed

• 2256 were Soft Skills

67 % Soft Skills

9 of 11skill categories

39 of 78 skills

Different skills in different regions…but always Communicating

Reg

ion*

(p=3.0 x 10-72)

Different skills in different employment… but always Communicating

Empl

oym

ent A

rea*

Different skills at different levels…but always Communicating

Leve

l of F

ST R

espo

nsib

ility

*

Ability to clearly

express ideas

‘Bi-directional’ communication

Reading literature

Communicatewith people with

no technicalknowledge

Languageskills

Speaks 3 languages

SpeakEnglish fluently

Social Skills: Communicate with

employees and workers

Presentation: Oral and writing

Knowledgetransmission

Know how to listen to co-

workers

Internal and external

communication

Writingresearchprojects

Communicatingcomplexproblems

Communicating:

www.maitreproject.eu

Results

• 3348 ideal skill ideas analysed

• 2256 were Soft Skills !

Result of Long-Term EU Projects like ISEKI

• Integrating Safety and Environment Knowledge Into Food– ISEKI Food 4

– Not that Scientific Skills aren’t needed, but they are no longer “looked for”

Results:

Different skills in different regions… but always Product Development

p = 0.0025

Different skills in different employment… but always Product Development

Different skills at different levels… but always Product Development

• Flynn K et al. (2012) Ideal skills for European food scientists and technologists: Identifying the most desired knowledge, skills and competencies. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2012.09.004

• Flynn K et al. (2013) Profile of currently employed European food scientists and technologists: Education, experience and skills. International Journal of Food Studies, in press.

How does one learn Communicating?

Learning Product Development

Skill Reinforcement

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The « Hidden Support »

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Thank you to my colleaguesErik WahnströmSIK – The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, Gothenberg

Bárbara Ruiz Bejaranoainia, Valencia

Mona PopaUniv of Agricultural & Veterinary Sciences, Bucharest

Cristina Silva – Track_Fast CoordinatorBiotechnology School of the Catholic University, Porto

Sixteen Local Coordinators of Brainstorming Workshops!

Mafalda QuintasBiotechnology School of the Catholic University, Porto

Thank you to my colleagues

Thank you for your attention

www.safeconsortium.org