ERIC Number: EJ1286754
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Dec
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2578-2118
EISSN: N/A
Entry-Level Workplace Competencies Needed by Graduates of a Community College Agriculture Program: A Midwest Case Study Using the Delphi Technique
Colclasure, Blake C.
Journal of Research in Technical Careers, v4 n2 p3-23 Dec 2020
Community colleges have a strong history of providing vocational education and occupational training to meet changing workforce demands of local industries. In the Midwest, agricultural industries have expressed an expanding need for middle-skilled workers with postsecondary, pre-baccalaureate credentials. The 21st century agricultural landscape has changed as a result of the need for efficiency and sustainability, and resulting emergent agricultural technologies. Community colleges will be integral to establishing a qualified agriculture workforce for entry-level, middle-skilled positions. This study utilized a modified Delphi approach to identify entry-level workplace competencies needed by graduates of a community college agriculture program. Delphi panel experts represented leaders from the agronomy-based agriculture industry within the college's district, and initially identified 87 desired workforce competencies. Fifty-eight competencies achieved consensus from the Delphi panel and were categorized by themes: soft skills (26), agronomy-based technical skills (12), technology-based technical skills (9), agriculture mechanic/operator-based technical skills (3), general technical skills (4), and agribusiness-based technical skills (4). Results of this study can be used to inform community college agriculture program development and can be used as a case study for assessing workforce needs of local agricultural industries.
Descriptors: Entry Workers, Job Skills, Minimum Competencies, College Graduates, Community Colleges, Agricultural Education, Agricultural Occupations, Vocational Education, Labor Needs, Employer Attitudes, School Business Relationship, Agronomy, Agribusiness, 21st Century Skills, Soft Skills, Computer Literacy, Mechanical Skills, Employment Qualifications
UNLV Department of Teaching and Learning. 4505 South Maryland Parkway PO Box 3005, Las Vegas, NV 89154. e-mail: jrtc@unlv.edu; Web site: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jrtc/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kansas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A