The overall objective of this project is a competitive European dairy sector where industry and education collaborate to meet changing demands and trends.This collaboration is well on its way using the present project methodology, where dairies from 13 countries are informing, via interviews and questionnaires, the educational institutions (EI) which kind of skills are needed now, and which will be needed in 5 years. Together, the industry and the EI’s have a common challenge with recruitment. The dairy business suffers from an ‘old-fashioned’ image, that does not attract and retain enough young people. Consequently, one of the immediate findings, is that the industry and education must join forces to develop campaigns to attract and retain more employees into the sector. AEDIL is the umbrella organization that ‘oils the wheels’ for campaigning across member countries and will thus ensure momentum and sustainability. Furthermore, one of the findings from the research thus far, is that ‘automation’ (robotics, human enhanced performance, basic IT skills, Programming and understanding) is of major concern and high priority to the industry in all job categories. Education programmes tend to teach science separately to digital skills which are needed in the modern dairy. This is a challenge both in relation to upgrading the existing dairy curricula, but also in relation to ensuring high quality Work Based Learning (WBL) and ‘adult participation in lifelong learning’. The immediate objective of this project is to provide the sector with consolidated recommendations on training provision to meet the skills required by the labour market. The project is composed of 4 phases: 1. development of a framework and questionnaires for research; 2. Research in 13 countries (interviews of a total of 39 VET and Universities and 116 SME and large dairies); 3. Analysis of the data collected and 4. Recommendations on how to overcome skills mismatches and close gaps. We are almost complete with the research and the analysis group (3rd phase) has already developed the tools needed to analyse the data from the research – both qualitative and quantitative. Trials have been tested and much of the research data is already uploaded to the analysis tool. The analysis report, with diagrams and graphs, is planned for the end of September.We already have some indication on which major challenges will be identified through the research: overall challenges with recruitment; lack of skilled people – mainly automation skills (dairy); and retention. This is of no surprise to the consortium however, the extent of the problem is likely to be surprising. Dissemination: all participating partners are taken great effort in disseminating the project. A dissemination strategy was shaped and distributed during the first period of the project and formats to register dissemination efforts have been created. Furthermore, the AEDIL-website is updated on an ongoing basis to make the dissemination efforts visible. In regard to internal communication, briefing notes are produced and distributed on a regular basis. The response from associated partners and other stakeholders, thus far, is very positive towards the project objectives and the information flow. Quality: A midterm external evaluation was produced in Spring 2018. In addition, an internal evaluation was carried out in the Netherlands in May 2018 with the participation of approximately 40 EUROPEL-teachers from all over Europe. The teachers approved of the project and had many ideas of how to meet the challenges. Furthermore, the consortium was asked to evaluate the project management, the level of information and the use of the project etc. In brief the feedback was that: The project is important; The research has been useful and interesting; The interviewees have been really interested; and the management of the project runs smoothly, and everybody feel well informed.