Senator Anna Caballero and current California Department of Food and Agriculture Chairman Don Cameron kicked off the new Ag Systems Certificate under the F3 Agrifood Technology Engineering Collaborative (AgTEC) program. The Kickoff was attended by Association President/CEO Roger Isom and held in Fresno. The certificate is designed to provide farmworkers and people interest in pursuing a career in agriculture and is administered by community colleges throughout the Valley. The program provides these individuals with the opportunity to update their skills with current and emerging technology and software, while also emphasizing soft skills like communication and problem solving. To obtain the certificate, the participant must complete all 14 core competencies which are provided through seven different community colleges in the Valley including Merced, Coalinga, Fresno City, Lemoore, Reedley, Clovis Community and Madera Community Colleges. The 14 core competencies are:
- Digital literacy
- Basic equipment operations
- Basic equipment troubleshooting
- General agricultural systems fundamentals
- Crop production systems
- Tool operations
- Applied technical reading
- Interpersonal skills
- Animal production systems
- Food safety
- Basic safety
- Industry communication
- Applied technical writing
There already over 100 participants enrolled in the program. For more information, please contact one of the participating colleges or you can reach out to Karen Aceves at Karen@arkeninc.com.
