Agronomists and foresters, the profession engages the new generations

With regard to graduates, the evidence is also positive: b>between 2010 and 2024 there is also growth here, certainly more marked in the segment of master's degree graduates (63.2 per cent) and more modest in that of three-year graduates (44.7 per cent). As for the former - which peaked considerably between 2015 and 2021 - the only course in decline remains Environmental and Land Use Engineering (dropping by more than 21 per cent), falling from a 29 per cent incidence in 2010 to around 14 per cent in 2024. The sector's weight, however, remains among the highest and is behind only Food Science and Technology (with an incidence of over 16 per cent), Agricultural Science and Technology (15.9 per cent) and Safety Engineering (over 14 per cent).

Compared to three-year graduates, on the other hand, they have grown by about 2300 units over the past fifteen years, with a sustained pace from 2015 to 2020. The biotechnology pathway, which alone has grown by 1160 graduates (around 53.8 per cent), certainly has an impact on this trajectory. But that's not all: the other pathway that, in terms of volume, made an impact was food science and technology (+1059 units and an incidence that rose from 15.2 per cent to 24.8 per cent from 2010 to 2024).

As for the career opportunities that can be found, the figures that emerged from the report (and cross-referenced with the Almalaurea databases for the 2009 and 2019 cohorts of graduates) show in black and white that those who choose one of the qualifying faculties for professional practice can count on almost always consistent employment prospects, both in terms of speed of entry into the world of work and in terms of long-term stability and average income.

Looking, for instance, at the graduates in 2009 and 2019 in the qualifying master's degree courses, one notices comforting figures with respect to gender composition. Which, numbers in hand, seems to be very close to parity. Not only that: between 2009 and 2019, female graduates have come to outnumber their male colleagues (48.4 per cent in 2009 and 50.6 per cent in 2019). Regarding the average age, however, it is 27.3 years for 2019 graduates (+0.3 years).

Shifting the focus to the postgraduate training, the general trend confirms that it is mainly concentrated in the phase immediately following the end of studies, and then becomes more marginal as time goes by (in essence, many years after graduation adherence is more marginal). Internships in companies remain the most widespread experience, involving more than a quarter of graduates, but interesting shares can also be found for university masters and PhDs.

Finally, when it comes to employment, a comparison of the two groups shows that, three years after graduation, the rate goes from 85.9 per cent (for 2009 graduates in 2012) to 87.8 per cent (for 2019 graduates in 2022). In the same range, the unemployment rate drops by more than four percentage points (from 10.1 per cent to 5.8 per cent). Five years after graduation, the situation changes little: employment grows from 85, 4 per cent in 2014 (for 2009 graduates) to over 90 per cent in 2024 (for 2019 graduates), while the unemployment rate drops from 10, 4 to 4.5 per cent.

Among 2019 graduates, the gap between male and female employment is minimal (90.9 versus 89.1 per cent). And with regard to job opportunities, three years after the end of the university course, the majority (over 45 per cent; more than 59 per cent after five years) work in professions linked to the intellectual, scientific and highly specialised area. A significant number are also found among the technical professions, while the number of those engaged in executive professions in office work is more limited (at three years after graduation around 8, 2 per cent, at five years at 3.5 per cent).

The public and private sectors see, in both cases and over time, a leap forward. Three years after graduation, the percentage of those employed in the public sector ranges from 15.6 per cent for 2009 graduates to 29.8 per cent for 2019 graduates; at five years, they reach 19.2 and 29.3 per cent. The tertiary sector stands at the top, absorbing more than half of the profiles in both 2009 and 2019 and in both time intervals. Industry and the primary sector follow.

Finally, shifting the eye to incomes and types of contract, the share of master graduates without a contract remains minimal and tends to heal with the passage of time since graduation, until it becomes small. Indeterminate employment is growing significantly (e.g. five years after graduation the share of indeterminate employees increases by 11.3 percentage points in the 2009 cohort and by 19 points in the 2019 cohort), while transitional employment options are increasingly losing ground. Even for salaries, the outlook is not at all negative: when comparing the two groups, there is an increase in average salaries for both men and women. Among 2009 graduates, it is 124 euros for women (from 1065 to 1189) and 161 euros for men (from 1291 to 1452), among 2019 graduates, it is 252 euros for women (from 1415 to 1667) and 301 euros for men (from 1534 to 1835).

The gender pay gap is well present both at three and five year intervals, although in the latter case it is evidently smaller (for 2009 about EUR 226, for 2019 EUR 119). In general, average salaries over the analysed decade improve significantly and in line with the increase in work experience, while the gender pay gap decreases, but does not disappear.

The last element considered, and not by specific weight, is the satisfaction expressed by employed Master's graduates, again three and five years after graduation. And which, net of high levels in both groups, is highest among 2019 graduates already three years after graduation, with an average score of 7.8 out of 10 (for 2009 stood at 7.3). Even at five years, the 2019 cohort has higher values (7.8) than the 2009 cohort (7.4).

Changing the register and diverting it, instead, to the data that emerged regarding three-year degrees from 2009 to 2023, the most interesting evidence certainly concerns the gender composition: in 2009 men accounted for more than 53 per cent of graduates and women for almost 47 per cent; in the following years the gap narrowed and, since 2013 - excluding the period 2016-2017 - the pink quotas have always been in the majority. In 2023, they reached 55.3 per cent of graduates, while their male counterparts were close to 45 per cent. At the same time, the average age fell, from 25.1 in 2009 to 24.1 in 2023.

But that is not all: if for master's degrees the recurring parameters are high levels of employment, gradual stabilisation and rising salaries, net of a gender pay gap that remains, for three-year degrees the figures show the prevailing propensity of graduates not to stop and to continue their studies, flanked by job placement paths that tend to be increasingly recurring and structured, ranging from technical professions to highly skilled sectors. Overall, in short, we can see how much the university degree continues to make a difference both as an entry requirement and as a compass in guiding careers and career paths.

If we turn the spotlight on the health of the professional association, the balance bodes well, but there is still work to be done. In 2026, the number of members reached 19593, a slight decrease (-0.9 per cent) compared to 2016. The composition sees a prevalence of the male side: men now account for over 79 per cent of the members (in 2016 they were over 81 per cent). But women are slowly making their way in: their incidence - compared to 2016 - has grown from 18.8 per cent to 20.5 per cent.

Also not to be underestimated is the distribution of profiles by age range: in the 2016-2026 period, the number of members aged between 36 and 65 fell to 66.5 per cent (down 13 percentage points compared to 2016, when it stood at over 79 per cent). In parallel, the incidence of the over-66s grows: the segment rises from 8.0 to 19.5 per cent, proving black and white a progressiveageing of the category.

But the generational change, although still germinal, is there and it is a good starting point on which to work for the future of the profession: new recruits up to the age of 35, after a phase of slight contraction between 2016 and 2019, are growing, reaching 14.8 per cent in 2025. A value that, net of a small decrease, remains more or less stable at 14.1 per cent in 2026.

The age datum also conditions the range of qualifications: juniors are characterised by an average young composition (33% agronomists and 29% foresters up to 35 years of age); ordinary ones, on the other hand, tend to absorb more mature profiles, with a prevalence of the range between 36 and 65 years of age.

Turning, on the other hand, to the economic level, the average income increases by 24.5 per cent over the period 2015-2023, with a consolidation of the average income conditions of taxpayers (a university graduate earns an average of almost EUR 30,000 per year).

The situation, in short, is clear: there is an ever-widening professional audience. And, above all, increasingly changeable, both in terms of the age of the professionals and the access routes. If the number of members is rising, the general trend winks at a progressive ageing of the category, with clear signs of turnover that, albeit at a controlled rate, bodes well. As does the positive trend in the average income trend.

In the survey conducted on an operational sample of more than 1,200 agronomists and foresters, interesting insights emerge on the double track of first university education and then employment. Let us try to put in order what emerged.

Among three-year degrees, the prevalent tracks chosen by young people approaching university are Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology (65.7 per cent interviewed) and Food Science and Technology (32.8 per cent). Agricultural sciences and technologies, forestry and environmental sciences and technologies, and zootechnical sciences and animal technologies, on the other hand, are the prevailing circuits among master's degrees: 67.7 per cent, 21 per cent and 8.3 per cent of graduates, respectively, chose them. In post-graduation, on the other hand, where it is still necessary to intersect accumulated skills with experience in the field, internships (over 39 per cent of the sample), training courses (over 31 per cent) and voluntary collaborations (over 28 per cent) win out. Close behind are internships (23 per cent) and scholarships (over 22 per cent).

But what drives a recent graduate to choose precisely these courses and, looking further ahead, this career? Values, interests and personal sensibilities are the driving force: first and foremost, a passion for the environment and nature, then an interest in agriculture and food production and environmental sustainability, climate change and sustainable development, followed by an interest in innovation and technology.

Employment prospects, on the other hand, seem to have less weight on the decision-making process. And even more marginal is contextual information such as family tradition and advice from friends and relatives.

On the other hand, it is a great advantage to be able to access various curricula, which obviously also direct what comes after the qualification: the agronomist is no longer 'forced' to be content with just running an agricultural business or providing technical advice. But he can carve out a role in certification and quality management bodies or in food safety and forestry management.

In the choice between employment and self-employment, the differences are often related to age. From the data it seems clear that self-employment does not tend to be undertaken as the first job outlet by the younger generations (it involves over 41 per cent of those under 35 and over 45 per cent of those aged 35-44), who prefer dependent or combined forms of employment (among the under 34s, dependent work involves 40.2 per cent of those in employment, while those who opt for the hybrid solution among the under 34s is 18 per cent, between 17.9 and 20.6 among those aged between 35 and 54).

Still on the subject of employment, among those surveyed, 90 per cent are employed (48.1 per cent freelancers and 28.4 per cent employees, 14.4 per cent hybrids). Approximately 60 per cent of new graduates found a job six months after graduation: especially in the years from 2020 to 2025, the time it takes to find one's first job will be shortened, thanks to economic policies but also to an increased demand for labour. The sector with the highest percentage of activity in 2025 is consultancy and farm support (15 per cent), followed by public administration (10.9 per cent), environmental management (8 per cent), agricultural consultancy (7.6 per cent) and teaching and training (7.3 per cent). Among freelancers, consultancy (in all its forms) and support for agricultural companies, environmental and forestry management, green planning and management, assessment activities and quality certification win out. For employees, public administration is definitely the main focus (24.3%), followed by research and development (14.8%) and teaching and training (over 8%).

Long-term stability and continuity of employment are two fixed points. More than 83 per cent of the freelancers surveyed, 79.2 per cent of those who chose the hybrid option, and more than 69 per cent of employees said they had been in a job for more than five years.

And what about the future? The positive assessments are more related to the strategic role of the agro-forestry sector in the evolution of public policies and priorities. The negative ones, on the other hand, are rather linked to factors such as market fragmentation, regulatory overload and tax pressure - penalising especially at the beginning - and poor recognition of the role in the balance of society.

Putting the pieces together, therefore, a motivating result emerges: an evolving professional system, with good levels of job placement, more pathways to choose from, a certain continuity of employment over the long term,solid economic foundations and on average satisfied operators (70% among freelancers, almost 65% among employees and over 67% among those combining the two forms said they were satisfied with a score of 4.5 out of 5).

There is of course no shortage of grey areas and criticalities, which can be managed by framing the professional as a game changer. And by taking advantage of the wide range of jobs on offer, which will allow the agronomist or forester to meet the changing demands of the market and, above all, their own personal inclinations, starting with the baggage accumulated in university.

What can the Order do, then, to ensure that its members are given maximum protection and maximum drive towards better results? The priority remains turning numbers and suggestions into operational strategies. And accompany professionals throughout their working life. University preparation is not enough if it is not backed up by continuous updating, now the only shortcut to not being overwhelmed by new social demands and shaping a career more fluidly than before. Also in the light of more recurrent regulatory, technological and market changes to which one must adapt. And to which we must respond, for example, by transforming long life learning into a structural tool, as well as a link between profession and innovation.