To showcase the wide range of careers available in Pennsylvania’s agricultural and food industry, the AgandFoodCareersinPA.com website is available for high school students, educators, and families to utilize as they explore potential careers and education paths. The website includes a large collection of resources, including career-focused videos, an interactive career quiz, educator resources, and more. Over the last few months, a group of young professionals from agriculture organizations across the state worked to publish new career videos that showcase the diversity and breadth of Pennsylvania agriculture.
“The growth of agriculture is dependent on our future workforce. AgandFoodCareersinPA.com is an excellent resource for all of agriculture to use to entice youth about the opportunities that exist within our industry,” said Raechel Sattazahn, Director of Industry Relations at Horizon Farm Credit.
The website includes more than 50 different career pages, each with an interview-style video, an infographic about the career, a job description, role responsibilities, education requirements, salary information, a job outlook and more. These pages give students the opportunity to learn about agriculture careers that match their interests and the steps they need to take to find future employment. A list of possible internship, scholarship, and apprenticeship opportunities is also available on the website.
For educators looking to promote agriculture in their classrooms, the website includes free resources, including web scavenger hunts for both middle and high school students, lesson plans, career pathway activities, posters, interest surveys and more.
“Agriculture has so many different pieces to it, and whether a student is interested in science, math, natural resources or hands-on learning, there are meaningful career opportunities that match an array of interests,” said Michelle Shearer, Workforce Development Manager at the Dairy Excellence Foundation. “This website is filled with free resources for students and educators who are interested in learning more about rewarding careers in the agriculture industry.”
Learn more about the resources available to students and teachers:
- Ag and Food Careers List – Students can browse careers in different sectors of the agriculture industry and watch the accompanying videos. More than 50 career pages are featured, including agricultural business, agricultural production and mechanics, animal science, environmental sciences, food science, plant science, and secondary forest resource production.
- Interactive Career Quiz – Students who are unsure about where to begin with their career search can take a short quiz to start exploring specific fields in the agriculture industry that match their interests.
- Next Steps – Students who already have a career path in mind can access resources to help them take the next steps, including scholarship, internship, apprenticeship opportunities.
- Educator Resources— Ideal for both in-person and virtual instruction, educators have access to free resources, including web scavenger hunts, lesson plans, career pathway activities, posters, interest surveys and more.
- Interactive Career Map – Pennsylvania is home to a wide range of agricultural businesses. This interactive map includes pinned locations of several companies with agriculture career opportunities to help students with future job searches.
The website is a project of the Workforce Development Committee with the Grow PA Agriculture initiative. Grow PA Agriculture formed in 2014 as a collaboration of agribusinesses and organizations to support the growth of Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry. Focus areas include workforce development, regulatory reform and economic development.
The Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax deductible organization that is Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) approved. Established in 2010, the foundation’s mission is to build and invest in programs that cultivate and empower the next generation of producers, consumers, and advocates for the Pennsylvania dairy industry. Learn more at centerfordairyexcellence.org/our-foundation/.
Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation▼2301 North Cameron St., Harrisburg, PA 17110 ▼717-346-0849 ▼www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/our-foundation/