10
KERN BUSINESS JOURNAL
Februar y / March 2015
Ag academy grows out of Bakersfield College and Paramount collaboration By Lindsay Ono
A
griculture is one of the most economically critical sectors, yet a skills gap exists in Kern County. This much-overlooked and misunderstood industry is integrated into every aspect of our modern-day lives, from farming and ranching to support, processing and distribution of goods. Agriculture represents the largest number of jobs in California and the nation, producing America’s food, fiber and energy. Because agriculture has changed so much in recent years, becoming much more technological and science-based, local farming companies are challenged to fill the hundreds of well-paying jobs that are open every year. In order to meet that need, a new program from Paramount Farming puts high school students on paths to careers in agriculture before they even leave high school. The Paramount Agricultural Career Academy is an innovative program that prepares young people for the agricultural industry. Bakersfield College (BC) partnered with Paramount to develop an “early college” model, which enables high school students to earn college credit for free while still in high school. Students can choose among three agricultural career pathways: ag business, ag mechanics and plant science. Agriculture professors from BC teach courses to the high school students, providing real-world expertise, facilitating hands-on training in state-of-the-art laboratories and paving the way for students to do paid internships at Paramount during their senior year. As a result, BC has reinforced its position as a bridge between high school and desirable high-skill, high-paying careers. Through BC’s participation in the Paramount Agriculture Career Academy, high school students can graduate from high school with an associate degree or technical certificate in agriculture and start on their career path that much sooner. For BC, the agriculture academy is highly practical and supports the college’s mission to provide practical training to launch students into well-paying, satisfying careers. Through the agriculture academy, students right out of high school are ready for employment as technicians, product line supervisors, maintenance managers, welders, and machine and equipment operators. The academy provides a jumpstart for young people, especially in a region where one out of every five people reportedly work directly in agriculture or related fields. Unemployment is not the only option for life after high school, particularly when the nation’s largest industry is right in our backyard. Over the next five years, California agricul-
PHOTO COURTESY OF AMBER CHIANG/BC
The Bakersfield College Agricultural Academy is a joint effort between the campus and Paramount Farming and seeks to prepare youth for careers in agriculture.
ture is expected to add 132,000 new jobs. Jobs in some of the high-growth sectors, such as distribution and retail sales of agriculture commodities, are expected to pay upward of $54,000. BC’s agriculture program works to be a leader in innovation and education with the newest technological advances, and in partnership with Paramount Farming, the expectation of a high school education is flipped and expanded through the Paramount Agricultural Career Academy. Students are leaving their K-12 education with career readiness and higher education experiences that last a lifetime. Through partnerships that link community colleges, such as BC, local high schools and companies, such as Paramount, new hope for a positive career future is coming to our local youth. Lindsay Ono is associate professor of environmental horticulture at Bakersfield College.
Growing agriculture leaders locally By S. Aaron Hegde, Ph.D.
A
ccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the national unemployment rate for December 2014 was 5.6 percent, the lowest level it has been since June 2008. During the same month, the unemployment rate in the
agriculture sector was 12.1 percent (seasonally unadjusted annual rate was 7.5 percent). The seasonality of employment in agriculture notwithstanding, according to BLS, it is one of the economic sectors projected to have significant job growth in the next five years. However, this growth will not be uniform across all types of agriculture jobs; rather, it will be limited to higher-skilled
PHOTO COURTESY OF AMBER CHIANG/BC
As part of the academy, high school students learn from BC agriculture professors.
occupations, such as food marketing managers and farm credit analysts, among others. The Department of Agriculture estimates annual job openings in the agriculture, food and renewable natural resource sectors of approximately 50,000, with a majority of them in the management and business aspects of agriculture. This is especially relevant to employment in Kern County, where approximately 24 percent of labor is associated with the agriculture sector, as opposed to the rest of the country where it comprises 1 percent of the labor force. Continued on page 11