Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Bridging the Agricultural Skills Gap
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that the agricultural workforce in Syria lacks the necessary technical, business, and climate-resilient skills needed to compete in an evolving labor market. The prolonged crisis has hindered skill development, and as Syria transitions towards economic recovery, the agricultural sector risks falling behind due to an unprepared workforce.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
The Syrian crisis has significantly disrupted the labor market, especially in agriculture, which is a cornerstone of the economy and food security. Over 15 years of instability have led to outdated farming practices, a lack of innovation, and an educational system misaligned with labor market demands. With anticipated foreign investments and policy reforms, the sector presents opportunities for growth, but these cannot be leveraged effectively unless the skills gap is addressed. The lack of modern agricultural skills affects farmers, students, recent graduates, and policymakers, creating inefficiencies and limiting economic opportunities.
Undesired effects include:
Low productivity and sustainability in farming practices.
Limited employment opportunities for youth and returning professionals.
Increased vulnerability to climate change effects, such as droughts.
Weak linkages between academic institutions and labor market needs.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, over 60% of agricultural workers lack formal training in modern farming techniques.
Unemployment among agricultural graduates exceeds 35%, indicating a mismatch between education and market needs.
Climate-induced droughts have reduced Syria’s agricultural productivity by 40%, emphasizing the need for climate-adaptive skills.
Less than 20% of farmers have access to advanced agronomic knowledge or technology.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Farmers and young professionals report difficulty in accessing training on sustainable agriculture, climate-smart techniques, and agribusiness.
Private sector investments in agriculture are increasing, yet they highlight the scarcity of skilled labor as a major barrier.
University students express frustration over outdated curricula that do not prepare them for the evolving job market.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
The UNDP Accelerator Lab is uniquely positioned to address this challenge because:
It brings innovation and experimentation to skill development, testing new methods such as blended learning and peer-to-peer training.
It has the networks and partnerships to convene key actors like the Ministry of Agriculture, universities, and private sector stakeholders.
It focuses on systemic change, ensuring alignment between skills development, policy reforms, and market needs.
It leverages data-driven approaches, using skill profiling tools to create targeted interventions.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
📢 Syria’s agriculture sector is at risk due to a major skills gap! 🌱🚜 UNDP Accelerator Lab is tackling this by piloting a Skill Gap Analysis, bridging education & labor market needs for a resilient agricultural workforce. #SkillsForTheFuture #AgriInnovation
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
Damascus University (Academia)
Ministry of Agriculture (Government)
FAO (International Organization)
Private Sector (Agri-Tech Companies, Investors)
Local Agricultural Cooperatives & NGOs
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Damascus University (Academia)
Aligning curricula with market needs.
Supporting research and training programs.
Ministry of Agriculture (Government)
Integrating findings into national policies.
Enhancing capacity-building initiatives.
FAO (International Organization)
Providing technical expertise on agricultural skills.
Supporting policy recommendations.
Private Sector (Agri-Tech Companies, Investors)
Offering practical training opportunities.
Driving innovation in farming practices.
Local Agricultural Cooperatives & NGOs
Engaging with farmers and rural communities.
Facilitating pilot training programs.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
What are the most critical technical, business, soft, and climate-resilient skills currently missing
in the agricultural sector?
Which training approaches are most effective in addressing these skill gaps, especially in
resource-limited and crisis-affected contexts? (Blended learning, on-site
demonstrations, peer-to-peer learning, or digital tools).
What specific skills are needed to make the agricultural workforce more resilient to the changes that are
happening?
How can the findings of this pilot inform policy reforms and institutional strategies to create a
sustainable skill development ecosystem in the agricultural sector?
How can Syrian youth and returning professionals with international exposure contribute to introducing innovative practices, and what mechanisms can support their integration into the agricultural sector?
How can the outcomes of this pilot initiative contribute to improving food security, creating decent work opportunities, and achieving broader economic recovery goals in post-crisis Syria?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore, Test
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
The initiative focuses on comprehensive data collection, analysis, and visualization from multiple sectors related to agriculture. A key component is foresight, which will drive the development of future scenarios and identify the critical skill sets needed for a resilient and adaptive agricultural workforce. By leveraging foresight methodologies, we will anticipate emerging trends, climate impacts, technological advancements, and market shifts, ensuring that the sector is prepared for future challenges.
This process will culminate in an experimental approach, where insights from data and foresight are integrated into a pilot training model. This model will redefine how agricultural training is designed and delivered, moving beyond conventional methods to test and validate innovative, scalable, and context-specific capacity-building solutions. Through this structured experimentation, we aim to bridge the skill gap effectively and enhance the sector’s ability to adapt to evolving labor market needs.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Lack of comprehensive labor market data.
Limited employer perspectives on skills demand.
No formal tracking of training impact.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Universities & Vocational Institutes → Scaling training programs and curriculum reforms.
Ministry of Agriculture & FAO → Expanding findings into national policy frameworks.
Private Agri-Tech Companies → Partnering for technology-driven skill-building.
International Donors & UN Agencies → Securing funding for national expansion.
Youth & Farmer Networks → Promoting peer-led training models for broader impact.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
1No poverty
2Zero hunger
4Quality education
13Climate action
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