In partnership with the Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative, Monroe Community College’s Agriculture and Life Sciences Institute (ALSI) surveyed employers and conducted focus groups to identify and better serve the educational needs of food and agricultural workers in the region. Responses to a voluntary, online survey were used by ALSI to develop a new Agriculture and Food Studies Certificate program – providing students with more informed career pathways within the local food and agricultural sector.
Responses to the survey identified that although education and training are highly valued, most employers lacked the funds to reimburse employees for formal education and training. The majority of the 47 responders preferred online training programs over classroom instruction. Most employers currently train their employes on a one-on-one basis.
“The survey confirmed that employers and employees are interested in and realize the benefits of higher education,” said ALSO Senior Specialist Bob King, Ph.D. “The challenge faced by employers is revising budgets and seeking grants or additional revenue to support higher education for their employees.”
The new certificate program requires 24 hours of instruction and is expected to be offered beginning in fall 2013. Offering the program both in the class room and online provides opportunities for students to fit the program into their work schedules while reducing the cost of traveling to and from MCC.
The Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative (http://www.rit.edu/gis/flfpci/) is a coordinated effort led by the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability. The initiative offers education and certification for incumbent, underemployed and displaced workers designed to spur economic growth and job creation in the nine-county region. The program offers advancement, training and small business programs.
MCC courses that support the food and agriculture industry include Introduction to Agriculture, Introduction to Greenhouse Management, Introduction to Sustainability, Supervising for the 21st Century, Computer Literacy, Independent Study – Agriculture and Food Studies, General Microbiology for Food and Agriculture (proposed future course), Food and Agriculture Problem Solving – Behavioral Applications (proposed future course).
To find out more about the Agriculture and Food Studies certificate program, contact the MCC Admissions Office at admissions@monroecc.edu or (585) 292-2200.
