Il ruolo delle Politiche di formazione nel settore agricolo e forestale: il caso Piemontese

Training plays a strategic role in improving the competitiveness and the productivity of the agricultural sector. Its role is widely recognized by the European Union that encourages it through the Rural Development Program, financing training courses for agricultural and forest operators. The present working paper reports the results of a research carried out in Piedmont Region to evaluate the public agriculture training system. It explores the quality of training courses and the coherence with the training needs expressed by farmers and forest workers. In addition, it tries to reflect about public fund flows, suggesting policy implications for future actions. The methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis and it is characterized by an exhaustive field research. The main results show a high satisfaction among participants, a good coherence between training offer and training needs, but also some weak points related to the management of the training system and the relationships among the several actors involved.