Apprenticeship in Agriculture and Food Systems
About
Nationwide, the agriculture and food systems industry varies greatly in breadth and depth. While the way governmental agencies organize their oversight functions and the way that supply and distribution chains function vary state by state, the essential components of the industry are as follows:
- Production (large scale agriculture and smaller scale horticulture)
- Food Processing
- Distribution, Logistics, and Transportation
- Retail Food Distribution
Employers from each of these components employ a diverse workforce, which includes farmers, food safety inspectors, scientists, engineers, truck drivers, and many more. As in other industries, agriculture and food systems are in a severe labor shortage and apprenticeship offers employers opportunities to upskill workers and meet their talent pipeline demand.
Essential Components of Agriculture and Food Systems
Information on the four essential components of agriculture and food systems can be found here.
The following are tools, successful program examples, and other resources that can be used to help expand apprenticeship in agriculture and food systems industry.
General Resources:
- Agriculture Resource Page on Apprenticeship.gov, including information on the USDOL/USDA Agriculture Industry Registered Apprenticeship Community of Practice
- Listing of Agriculture and Food Occupations (O*NET OnLine)
- Overview of Careers in the Agriculture and Food Industry (AG Explorer)
- Registered Apprenticeship Standards Library
- Ag Apprenticeship Toolkit: A Guide to Developing or Improving an Ag Apprenticeship Training Program on Your Farm or Ranch
- National Ag Apprenticeship Learning Network
Examples of Registered Apprenticeship Programs in Agriculture Production:
- Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship
- Diversified Vegetable Apprenticeship (PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture)
- Certified Horticultural Crop Specialist (Mid-America Food Hub and the Missouri Department of Economic Development)
- Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program (National Association of Landscape Professionals)
- Agriculture Commodity Grader Apprenticeship (US Department of Agriculture)
- Cannabis Retail Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship (The Cannabis Place and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360)
- Agricultural Service Worker (North Carolina)
- Organic Vegetable Farm Manager (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development)
- Farm Manager, Vegetable Production
- Sustainable Vegetable Assistant Farm Manager
- Farm Manager
- Veterinary/Lab Animal Tech
- Veterinary and Laboratory Animal Technician
- Veterinary/Lab Animal Tech (Alternate Title: Animal Care Specialist) (WestCal Academy)
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- Resource Publication Date: 2019
- Posted by: Jon Vehlow
- Posted in: Apprenticeship