Sustainable agriculture is a priority sector in France, but skills shortages are restricting farms’ ability to expand, and skills gaps deny many unemployed people the chance to apply for these new jobs.

Thanks to funding from the European Social Fund (ESF), the Centre-Val de Loire Region was able to arrange traineeships for eight unemployed people, preparing them to work as operation managers in the organic agriculture sector.

As part of their traineeships, trainees learned about animal husbandry and plant production through practical activities and work visits. They also learned to understand the professional farming scene by attending networking fairs.

Training Manager Segal Romuald highlights the positive outcome of the initiative: 'Thanks to the European support of the social project to train as a farm manager in organic farming, all trainees have been able to find employment.’

As a result of its success, the project enabled participating farms to fill  vacancies, while also creating high-quality jobs for long-term unemployed workers.