1. Home
2. Conferences
3. 2011 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference

Swine Jobs School: The Development and Evaluation of an Employment Readiness Program

Gerald May

Summary

Michigan’s swine breeding herd of 110,000 animals is the 12th largest nationally, producing over 2 million market animals annually. Much of this production is on modern swine farms which depend on skilled employees to carry out daily tasks and provide appropriate animal care. Issue identification sessions with Michigan’s pork industry leaders continually recognize human resources as a very high priority. In an effort to address this need, and with the support of the North Central Risk Management Education Center, the Michigan State University Extension Pork Team developed and implemented a curriculum for MSU Extension’s Swine Jobs School.

The goal of this program was to design, facilitate and deliver a curriculum to educate and make available skilled employees for Michigan’s pork industry. The program was taught locally, utilizing local education resources and local swine farms as learning labs. It was taught by MSU Extension Educators and University Specialists making use of classroom and hands on learning experiences. This program targeted new entrants for the job market, either as first time job seekers or seasoned workers displaced from other industries. After completing the program they possessed marketable skills in an industry with an identified need for trained employees.

Three sessions of Swine Jobs School were held from September 2009 to November 2010. This presentation will review the program’s structure, curriculum and outcomes. Particular emphasis will be given to an evaluation of this form of education as employment readiness training.

Details

---