New partnership focuses on agricultural education

More emphasis is being put on addressing the labour shortages in the agriculture sector.

The province and Saskatchewan's Distance Learning Centre (Sask DLC) are partnering with the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) to support agricultural work placements for students in agriculture related courses offered online.

Larry Hertz, vice president of NAEDA says labour shortages are one of the most pressing issues facing Canadian agriculture and are a major constraint on both agricultural growth and global competitiveness,

As part of the partnership agreement, NAEDA will provide $40,000 a year for five years to Sask DLC to support work placements for students enrolled in the online agricultural programs.

Eligible courses are available through Sask DLC including an Agricultural Equipment Technician 20, Agricultural Equipment Technician 30, Parts Technician 30L and a new Precision Agriculture 30L program.

Students enrolled in each of the agricultural programs will complete 50 hours of online theory, 50 hours of work placement at a local equipment dealership, and an optional boot camp at Saskatchewan Polytechnic (SaskPoly).