farm, seeds, land
By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Kyle Hamrick
As Alabama’s multi-billion-dollar agricultural industry continues to want extra upkeep technicians, a brand new partnership between educators and industry leaders might assist.
The Alabama Community College System joined forces with the Alabama Forestry Association and Alabama Poultry & Egg Association to create a brand new agricultural coaching credential for highschool college students.
According to a press launch, the credential certifies K-12 academics to lay foundations for continued profession technical schooling or after-graduation job alternatives for college students in grades 9-12.
“Agriculture is an incredibly important industry to the state. We’re proud this professional development opportunity through our community colleges will help ensure that the instruction they provide in the classroom will continue to develop trained professionals that Alabama’s agriculture industry needs,” mentioned ACCS Chancellor Jimmy Baker.
Maggie Pope, who serves as Director of Education for AFA’s Forest Workforce Training Institute, defined the state’s forestry industry might see a turnover of just about 50% due to retirement and age.
“We want to create a pipeline of qualified workers who can continue to create viable career paths for themselves, while also ensuring that agriculture educators have access to their community colleges for hands-on experience or more in-depth theory training for their students,” she mentioned.
The initiative started late final month in Auburn and will likely be continued in additional than 25 Alabama faculty districts and Wallace Community College in Dothan.