National FFA Organization, Discovery Education and AgCareers.com Join Forces to Introduce Students to Careers in Agriculture
In today's world, students are always looking for ways to get a jumpstart on the competition, and employers are looking for employees who are a cut above the rest. It's for this reason that the National FFA Organization, Discovery Education and AgCareers.com have partnered to create AgExplorer.
AgExplorer.com is a new career exploration website that is a robust, comprehensive career resource to help students explore the broad range of careers in agriculture.
"We're excited to introduce this transformational resource that will allow students to explore the 235 unique careers in agriculture," said Joshua Bledsoe, chief operating officer of the National FFA Organization. "FFA is uniquely positioned to provide the foundation of the talent pipeline for the agricultural industry. In addition to engaging our students and supporting our teachers, AgExplorer.com will help us tell our story and the story of agriculture to the world. Together, we can all strengthen the future of agriculture."
In the next five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the industry of agriculture will have more than 60,000 job openings annually, and an estimated 22,500 of those openings will not have highly skilled graduates to fill them. In 2015, AgCareers.com hosted nearly 78,000 job postings in the U.S. alone. AgExplorer is the tool students can use to explore this industry and see what career is the best fit for them.
AgExplorer features 235 unduplicated agricultural career profiles that include a career description, typical responsibilities, job outlook, education requirements, average salary and links to a college and university database and jobs currently available.
The National FFA Organization's strategic career success partner, AgCareers.com, worked with industry leaders to identify 235 unduplicated careers in agriculture and developed profiles for each career. In addition, AgCareers.com maintains a database of all two- and four-year colleges and universities that offers some type of agricultural degree. This database is then linked to each career profile. Additionally, the salary data provided for each role is industry validated through the AgCareers.com Compensation Benchmark Review™ tool and will be continually monitored as part of the partnership with AgCareers.com.
"I am constantly searching for ways to better engage my students and expose them to diverse career pathways. AgExplorer gives me the tools to connect my students to real opportunities in the agricultural industry," said Patti Grammens, a teacher at Lakeside Middle School in Georgia's Forsyth County Schools. "AgExplorer will give all teachers, even those without agricultural experience, the resources to get students excited about careers they may have otherwise not considered. I am looking forward to using this program in my classroom this year."
AgExplorer also features nine videos that highlight how each of the eight agricultural pathways and agricultural education are part of the global solutions to feeding the world. It also offers the Career Finder, an interactive assessment designed to help students match careers with their interests.
"Discovery Education is proud to partner with the National FFA Organization to offer classrooms nationwide an array of dynamic, digital resources that help connect real-world STEM applications to a variety of potential agricultural career paths," said Lori McFarling, senior vice president of Discovery Education. "We are dedicated to preparing students to be college and career ready, and AgExplorer will help achieve this mission by connecting students' interests and academic strengths to a broad array of promising careers in today's rapidly growing agriculture industry."
The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 629,367 student members who belong to one of 7,757 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core, professional development, assessment tools, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 3 million educators and over 30 million students, Discovery Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at http://www.discoveryeducation.com.
About National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 629,367 student members as part of 7,757 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org, on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.
About National FFA Foundation
The National FFA Foundation builds partnerships with industry, education, government, other foundations and individuals to secure financial resources that recognize FFA member achievements, develop student leaders and support the future of agricultural education. Governed by a 19-member board of trustees comprised of educators, business leaders, individual donors and FFA alumni, the foundation is a separately-registered nonprofit organization. About 82 percent of every dollar received by the foundation supports FFA members and agricultural education opportunities. For more, visit FFA.org/Give.
About AgCareers.com
AgCareers.com is the leading provider of global talent solutions in agriculture and food. The company strives to improve the industries by connecting job seekers and employers with a targeted, online tool that is economical and produces results. With a presence in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, AgCareers.com has more than 1 million page views each month and employers post more than 7,000 jobs through the site monthly. Beyond the job board, AgCareers.com offers human resource professionals a suite of products which includes the Compensation Benchmark Review, Agribusiness HR Review, Ag & Food HR Roundtable, and much more. For more information, visit http://www.AgCareers.com.