Project · Training and supply chain
Campania Wine & Olive Oil Academy
An alliance of 40 Campanian wine and olive oil organisations, brought together in a consortium company to overcome fragmentation, lead the ecological transition and train the professionals of tomorrow.
| Programme | C.A.I. call “Campania Academy Industria” · Campania ESF+ Programme 2021–2027 |
| Form | Consortium limited company (SCARL) |
| Partnership | 40 partners: wine and olive oil producers, accredited training bodies, universities, associations, schools |
| Duration | Three-year programme |
| Role | Project manager |
| Status | Ongoing |
The context
Campania has an extraordinary agricultural heritage: about 70,000 hectares of olive groves and 25,000 hectares of vineyards, unique biodiversity and recent milestones such as the “Olio Campania” PGI. But the supply chain is highly fragmented: 64% of farms work less than 2 hectares and only 0.35% exceed 50.
Climate change, plant health pressures and global competition call for advanced skills – precision agriculture, sustainability, international marketing – that individual micro-businesses cannot develop on their own. Without a structure to bring them together, innovation and competitiveness remain out of reach.
The answer: a “large virtual enterprise”
The partners form a consortium company (SCARL) that manages funds, responsibilities and shared activities. Small businesses thus gain access to economies of scale, centres of excellence and national funding calls, with the strength of a large industrial organisation.
01
Technical upskilling
Precision agriculture, fermentation, organic farming.
02
Market development
Digital marketing, territorial storytelling, internationalisation.
03
Ecological transition
Sustainable soil management and climate resilience.
04
Tourism development
Wine and olive oil tourism as fully-fledged tourism systems.
The three-year programme
Measure A · Employed
Courses from 16 to 300 hours for workers, oenologists, agronomists, winery and olive mill staff: reskilling, new technologies, marketing.
Measure B · Unemployed
4 training paths of 300 hours with an allowance for people who want to enter the sector, aiming to hire at least 50% of eligible participants.
Measure C · System actions
The engine that links training to businesses: governance and needs analysis, territorial outreach, digital platforms, immersive laboratories (VR, 3D), communication.
An ecosystem of partners
Large companies, SMEs and associations bring different skills and gain value from the network: large companies validate industrial standards and provide “laboratory companies”; SMEs bring territorial roots and PDO/PGI identity; associations bring teaching methods, access to credit and business support.
A steering committee – businesses, training bodies, employers’ associations and trade unions, academic experts – continuously adapts the training offer to the real needs of Campania’s labour market.
Three-year goals
Human capital
Training and jobs
Targeted training and job placement, aiming for 50% of trained jobseekers to be hired.
Competitiveness
Ecological and digital transition
Innovation in wineries and olive mills, with higher quality and traceability for PDOs and PGIs.
Future
A permanent ecosystem
The SCARL as a stable hub for applied research and innovation beyond the three-year project.
The Academy does more than run courses: it gives businesses the capacity to seize major European and national investment opportunities, from supply-chain contracts to the “Vini dei Territori” programme, in line with Campania’s S3 smart specialisation strategy.
Want to build a supply-chain project?
I am happy to explain how a partnership like this comes together and how it could work in your area.