The conference 'New skills for a European Bioeconomy' which brought together bioeconomy and education and training stakeholders, was recently held in Brussels to discuss the role of skills development in driving and facilitating transition towards the bioeconomy and seizing the employment opportunities that this transition entails.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) hosted a conference entitled 'New skills for a European Bioeconomy' aimed at outlining the new skills needed for academia, industry and the primary production sector; the pathways for their acquisition; and how these new skills, competences and capacities could be optimally put to work to drive change and develop new models for the future of the bioeconomy sectors. In February 2012, the Commission presented an action plan for "a bioeconomy for Europe".

According to the Commission, a bioeconomy will require policy professionals at national and EU levels to be prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and adapt policies supporting the bioeconomy. The expanding bioeconomy will also require communications skills to effectively communicate and discuss the nuanced complexities of modern bioeconomy with the public, as well as engage civil society in bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy sector is an industry which is rapidly growing in importance on a global scale. Investment, research, innovation and skills are seen as key areas of focus to ensure growth and further integration of the bioeconomy sectors. Also needed is implementing multidisciplinary education programmes, encouraging mobility, organising the development of new bioeconomy curricula in universities, and providing new training opportunities for those in high- as well as low-skilled jobs.