{"id":1240689,"date":"2024-03-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-09T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=1240689"},"modified":"2024-03-08T11:14:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T11:14:44","slug":"attracting-and-retaining-talent-a-challenge-for-agri-tech-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/attracting-and-retaining-talent-a-challenge-for-agri-tech-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Attracting and retaining talent a challenge for agri-tech sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
One of the major challenges facing Ireland’s rapidly expanding agri-tech sector is attracting and retaining staff, an event in Co. Kerry has heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industry leaders, educators, researchers and students gathered for the event hosted by Ireland’s AgriTech cluster to discuss the evolving skills need in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cluster, funded by Enterprise Ireland and based in Munster Technological University (MTU) Kerry, has been established to ensure ongoing growth in the agri-tech industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major focus of this week’s gathering at the MTU North Campus in Tralee was the benefit of collaboration in addressing the needs of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also provided an opportunity for MTU students and agri-tech companies to connect through a networking session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent years, the agri-tech sector, which employs around 3,000 people across the country, has experience double digit growth in sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the global population is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, president of MTU Maggie Cusack told the event that “there is a real need, a growing need to produce more food from limited resources”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed to the need for the adoption of new technological advances in agriculture “so we can all benefit from more precise and more efficient and more sustainable farming”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n