The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) has a long and significant tradition of teaching and training students as they become highly qualified personnel (HQP) serving our agriculture and food sectors. In 2011, OAC commissioned a study, entitled Planning for Tomorrow, to determine the projected needs for HQP in the agriculture and food sector in Ontario. The results from the study confirmed a significant gap between the supply of graduates from OAC programs and demands of the agri-food sectors, with demand exceeding supply by as much as 3:1 for programs such as the BSc. Agriculture.
Synthesis Agri-Food Network, in collaboration with Orion Global Business Sustainability Consultants, is pleased to be working with OAC to launch Planning for Tomorrow, 2.0, an update of the previous study. The project team is seeking input from agriculture and food sector employers and organizations to identify and evaluate human resource needs in Ontario’s agri-food sector for the next five years in relation to education programs offered by OAC. By participating in this study, you will help determine how far OAC and agri-food sector has come, and what the future looks like for OAC graduates.
We invite you to take part in the process! You can be involved in Planning for Tomorrow 2.0 by participating in the online survey and/or a telephone interview with the project team.
Since we are collecting input from the full value chain, we have developed two surveys to meet the diverse needs of the industry. Survey 1 is related to the full range of primary agricultural production and associated services and businesses. Survey 2 is related to the food and beverage processing, manufacturing, distribution, and retail sectors.
Survey 1: Agriculture/Rural Sector – Please participate in this survey if you are involved in any of the following sectors (or related sectors):
- Primary Production (including the full spectrum of agricultural production – food, fibre, and fuel)
- Agri-business (e.g. crop input suppliers, feed mills, advisors, equipment retailers, etc.)
- Financial or Insurance
- Policy, Government, or Academia
- Rural sector (including rural planning)
- Ornamental horticulture
- Landscape architecture
- Turfgrass management
Click on this link to take the agri-food sector survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/OACPFT2agfood
Survey 2: Food Sector– Please participate in this survey if you are involved in the following sectors (or related sectors):
- Food and Beverage processing (includes wine and beer sectors)
- Food and Beverage manufacturing
- Food and Beverage retail
- Food science
- Restaurants and food service
- Food distribution
- Policy, Government, or Academia
Click on this link to take the food sector survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/OACPFT2Food
It will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete the survey. The online surveys will close May 26th, 2017.
If you are interested in participating in an interview to share your experiences of recruiting, hiring and/or working with OAC graduates, please follow up with Dr. Bronwynne Wilton (contact information below).
For more information on the project, please visit www.synthesis-network.com.
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