PALM DESERT, Calif. — As labor continues to be a major struggle for the produce industry, the 2024 West Coast Produce Expo brought together a panel of college professors and future college graduates to discuss the opportunities and challenges to the next generation pursuing a career in fresh produce.
Panelists Adam Brumberg, a researcher at Cornell University’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management; Koushik Saha, a professor in the industrial technology, packaging and entrepreneurship academic area at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo; Jayna Kaur, a student at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo; and Kaylee Yin, a student at Cornell University, joined moderator Mary Maranville, founder and director of the nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture, for an interesting look at careers in produce.
Saha said attracting the next generation into the produce industry needs to go beyond name recognition, as the next generation wants to understand how their role would affect the business.
“[The students] may know the name of big business, but unless there is some campus visibility with regard to visiting students at a club meeting or guest speakers or a lecture, the big name is meaningless, unfortunately,” he said.
Brumberg agreed, noting many students enter Cornell's College of Applied Economics and Management with dreams of working for Goldman Sachs or KPMG, but they do not realize how critical technology and data will be in the produce industry in the future — which unlocks a lot of potential career paths.
“We all know that the food space is the fastest-growing tech sector in the economy, partially because we're so far behind,” he said. “There's so many opportunities. … The more that we can talk about how technology is becoming part of the produce industry and the industry in general, the more young kids you're going to you're going to attract.”
Saha said this is especially important as produce packaging becomes a bigger focus in the future of the industry. Students need hands-on experience to understand the role produce packaging plays in the industry and also understand the roles available with produce companies.
“Students need to see that packaging is just not electronics or medical. Produce and food is far bigger than most of these other verticals,” he said.
Yin agreed, noting that while Cornell is the land-grant university for New York, many students don’t realize agriculture goes beyond farmers into packers, distributors, shippers and retailers.
“A lot of people tend to go into consulting and finance, and they don't realize that all of the kinds of skills that they're using in those jobs are also available in the produce industry,” she said. "They don't realize that you could do financial modeling and accounting and sales and all those things within this industry.”
Kaur, whose family comes from a farming background, said having the opportunity to conduct research with produce packaging has helped her see what kind of career opportunities there are, as many students studying packaging may typically only think of consumer packaged goods.
“My first research opportunity was my sophomore year, and I was doing the shelf-life extension for produce with Dr. Saha, and it was an incredible opportunity to learn more about packaging to get involved with professors and also get exposure to the innovation that's happening in the sector,” she said. “I think any exposure to food and produce for packaging can be really relevant and has opened many doors for me.”
Saha noted students participating in a research project with Safeway looked at how produce comes in and out of the company’s warehouse facility and how produce packaging impacts quality.
“Students need to see what retail operations [look like] — just not on the floor up front, but in the backroom,” he said. “Once they see that, they will give certainly a lot more importance and focus to produce packaging.”
Brumberg said it’s also important that the industry taps into the benefits of fresh produce when appealing to future graduates.
“Produce, it’s a product that everyone can feel good about supporting and selling,” he said, encouraging those in the industry to help graduates make that connection.
Maranville asked panelists about the challenges to recruiting future graduates to the industry.
Brumberg mentioned how when he started in the produce industry, he worked six days a week, but new grads have different expectations of work-life balance. But, he encouraged retailers and other produce industry businesses to look at a different way to frame those must-work days and show a willingness to be flexible.
“Lots of students who are graduating are not super excited about working on Saturday and Sunday, which of course in retail are the biggest days in food retail,” he said. “One thing I think I would suggest is retailers come up with good, flexible plans to kind of highlight how you can migrate that the weekend so you can have Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Just to highlight your ability to be flexible as an employer.”
Maranville also asked Yin and Kaur about what they look for in future roles. While Yin mentioned salary and company culture, she also expanded on how important it is to understand her future opportunities and growth path within a company.
“What's really important to me is just having a good understanding of the profession,” she said. “Having an understanding of what the job progression could look like there. … You might not start with the salary that you want to start with, but having that understanding that eventually you could reach more potential and eventually become a manager, then a VP or whatever the goals may be.”
In a Q&A session, one person talked about the lack of critical thinking with recent graduates, to which Blumberg said the hands-on projects students work on at Cornell help them to manage unrealistic expectations with clients and problem-solve. He said graduates would benefit from being involved in the interview process, being asked what parts of the job they find interesting and asking for input on how to solve challenges the company faces.
“We want them to be able to solve problems, because there isn't a single job in the world that doesn't involve problem-solving,” he said.
Saha also said recruiters need to understand that this next generation in the produce industry is not like previous generations. He said parents need to hold their teens and pre-teens accountable so it is instilled before the student sets foot on a college campus. He said as a professor, he sees this change within his classroom.
“Content is just no longer the most important factor; it is enabling them to understand that accountability and work ethic are equally important,” he said. “It doesn't matter how smart you are, if you don't have that you will get fired.”