Agricultural education of the future: a balance between academic knowledge and labor market demands

The lack of a balance between fundamental academic knowledge and the practical requirements of the modern labor market urges the modernization of agricultural education. The research carried out at Orel State Agrarian University aimed to identify the degree of employers’ satisfaction with the training quality of graduates, as well as to determine the key competencies necessary for successful job applicants. The authors interviewed 112 representatives of the agro-industrial sector and analyzed the documents of the Ministry of Agriculture, professional standards in the agro-industrial sector, Federal State Educational Standards for higher education in agricultural areas, monitoring data on graduate employment, internship reports, and the accreditation results. The results showed that the main forms of cooperation between the university and employers are the organization of production practices and internships (96.3%), business participation in the development of training courses and teaching (21.3% and 24.4%, respectively). Employers identified the key competencies required by graduates: professional competence (75.56%), teamwork ability (66.67%), computer literacy (51.11%), readiness for further education (53.33%) and the ability to analyze new information (60.00%). Based on the data obtained, the authors have proposed recommendations for improving training curricula, including increasing practical hours, attracting practical teachers and actively involving employers in the development of training courses. The study confirms that the close cooperation of universities with business improves the quality of graduate training, their competitiveness in the labor market and employer satisfaction. The implementation of the proposed measures will make it possible to train specialists capable of solving modern problems of the agricultural sector and sustainably developing the industry.

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