The role of higher education in the training of food industry specialists

Abstract

Training specialists for the food industry is essential from the viewpoint of public administration, as it requires interaction between various stakeholders, including government organizations, educational institutions, professional associations, and the private sector. Understanding this aspect is crucial for establishing and improving the training system to meet the current needs of the sector and labor market requirements. The article aims to study higher education in the food industry in Ukraine, focusing on the quality of training of specialists. The article analyzes the quality of education provided by Ukrainian higher educational institutions in the field of the food industry. The focus is on the competencies of bachelor's and master's degree graduates in food technology, which helps identify these educational institutions' unique characteristics. The article addresses the diversification of educational services, which include preparatory courses, postgraduate education, doctoral studies, and certificate programs. The study results indicate the need to improve the rating positions of these specialized institutions and ensure a more balanced representation in different regions of Ukraine. The article provides an analysis of the institutional environment in the field of higher education, which shows that training in the field of food technology is carried out in various educational institutions. These include specialized institutions in food technology and institutions focusing on related disciplines, such as trade, hotel and restaurant business, agriculture, biotechnology, medicine, and recreation, as well as general universities where food technology is one of the specialties. This diversity poses challenges in training qualified specialists, requiring universities to focus on transforming quantitative learning outcomes into qualitative results. Keywords: food industry, innovation technology, efficiency, higher education, higher educational institutions, specialties, administration.