Fanshawe College to offer Farm Management program
The demand for middle managers
in the agricultural sector of Ontario
has been on the rise for some time,
and yet there seems to be less and
less people willing to work these
positions. The thought is that a
lack of managerial training in farm
management is the cause of the decrease.
This is where Fanshawe decided
to step in.
“The message we have received from the community has been quite consistent: there is a need for a program delivered locally that provides training for students who could take on middle management roles on large and growing farm operations,” said Andrew Gunn, regional advancement co-ordinator for Fanshawe College in an article by Norfolk Business.
A farmer’s work is never done; they work from dawn until dusk making sure that their product is always in its finest conditions. However, this leaves little time for book keeping and other logistics for the business. Graduates of Fanshawe’s program would be ready to pick up all managerial duties, while giving the farmer the time they need to focus on their work. This program is all about creating better efficiency within the agricultural sectors.
“It’s managing the business so the owner can expand or focus on diversifying or whatever they need,” said chair of Fanshawe’s Norfolk campus Donna Gates in that same article.
Based out of the Simcoe campus, Fanshawe hopes that the program will bring more traffic into agricultural institutions and provide managers who are willing to work on farms. It will be a post-graduate certificate program to be geared toward people who already have degrees in similar fields or have already been working in middle management. The program will focus on everything surrounding management function and how to properly cover an agricultural institution. Among these topics are technology and health and safety, leadership skills, food safety and traceability, the current status and direction of the agricultural industry and pest control. This will also give potential managers the opportunity to build relationships and network to help further the growth of the country’s largest industry.
The program will differ from other farm programs in that it will offer students skills, which they can directly apply in the workplace. Knowing exactly where and how food is produced and grown will also be an important aspect of the program.
The creation of the program also hopes to give a boost to Norfolk County’s economy. An expected rise in local employment and overall traffic generated by the program would create a better system for Norfolk to expand upon.
The college is currently in the final stages of approving the program, which will offer agricultural and managerial studies, intended on strengthening Ontario’s horticulture lifestyle.
The Farm Management program will be offered as early as the 2017– 18 school year if approved by the provincial ministry of education.
“The message we have received from the community has been quite consistent: there is a need for a program delivered locally that provides training for students who could take on middle management roles on large and growing farm operations,” said Andrew Gunn, regional advancement co-ordinator for Fanshawe College in an article by Norfolk Business.
A farmer’s work is never done; they work from dawn until dusk making sure that their product is always in its finest conditions. However, this leaves little time for book keeping and other logistics for the business. Graduates of Fanshawe’s program would be ready to pick up all managerial duties, while giving the farmer the time they need to focus on their work. This program is all about creating better efficiency within the agricultural sectors.
“It’s managing the business so the owner can expand or focus on diversifying or whatever they need,” said chair of Fanshawe’s Norfolk campus Donna Gates in that same article.
Based out of the Simcoe campus, Fanshawe hopes that the program will bring more traffic into agricultural institutions and provide managers who are willing to work on farms. It will be a post-graduate certificate program to be geared toward people who already have degrees in similar fields or have already been working in middle management. The program will focus on everything surrounding management function and how to properly cover an agricultural institution. Among these topics are technology and health and safety, leadership skills, food safety and traceability, the current status and direction of the agricultural industry and pest control. This will also give potential managers the opportunity to build relationships and network to help further the growth of the country’s largest industry.
The program will differ from other farm programs in that it will offer students skills, which they can directly apply in the workplace. Knowing exactly where and how food is produced and grown will also be an important aspect of the program.
The creation of the program also hopes to give a boost to Norfolk County’s economy. An expected rise in local employment and overall traffic generated by the program would create a better system for Norfolk to expand upon.
The college is currently in the final stages of approving the program, which will offer agricultural and managerial studies, intended on strengthening Ontario’s horticulture lifestyle.
The Farm Management program will be offered as early as the 2017– 18 school year if approved by the provincial ministry of education.
