More than 100 students experienced a range of career opportunities available in agriculture and food as part of Your Future in Agriculture – a new leadership certificate course and career competition for Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) students in Ontario.
Hosted by AgScape and 4-H Ontario, the program marks a new partnership between the organizations to collaborate and share resources and networks to deliver engaging, fact-based information about the agri-food industry to Ontario students.
Held at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex on October 26, the event included a 4-H leadership workshop, followed by the career competition. Eight career stations – staffed by agricultural businesses and AgScape Teacher Ambassadors – exposed high school students from South Simcoe County to a variety of agri-food careers and provided a hands-on activity to help students experience some of the tasks of the job. Stations focused on careers in finance, agronomy, marketing, technology, environment, food processing and genetics.
“Your Future in Agriculture is a great, hands-on way to engage with high school students about the tremendous variety of careers available in the agri-food industry,” says AgScape Executive Director Colleen Smith. “Partnering with 4-H Ontario is a natural for us and arms students with the leadership skills they’ll need to really excel in their careers.”
The October 26 event was the official launch of Your Future in Agriculture and AgScape expects to be offering the program, together with 4-H Ontario, at other locations around the province with SHSM students. Your Future in Agriculture is designed to meet two of the five elements of the SHSM program: sector-recognized certification and experiential learning.
AgScape is a charitable organization providing reliable and balanced resources to Ontario schools on agriculture, food production, environmental sustainability and related topics. AgScape, formerly OAFE, was created in 1991 with the mission of building awareness and understanding of the importance of our agriculture and food system. For more information visit www.agscape.ca, follow us on Twitter @AgScapeON and like us on Facebook.com/AgScapeON
Source: AGScape