Recipient Organization
John Wood Community College
(N/A)
Quincy,IL 62305
Performing Department
AGRICULTURAL & HORTICULTURAL SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
Swine Industry businesses need highly trained employees. The need for employees exceeds available trained labor and causes pork production businesses to hire anyone available, regardless of training and experience. This project will provide employee training in swine management for entry level and mid management to improve performance, knowledge and skills.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The JWCC Swine Management Program is currently under utilized by students, business, and prospective employees of the districts pork production industry. One legitimate reason the JWCC Swine Program is under utilized is that most employees hired by pork industry businesses cannot wait the nine months or two years for students to complete the Certificate or Associate of Applied Science Degree in Swine Management before they are ready for work. As a result, pork production businesses need workers and hire available job applicants for positions even without the appropriate and desired level of experience and training. This leads to a workforce which is unskilled, frustrated and lacking the tools for optimal success on the job. Repackaging and delivering the components of the JWCC Swine Management Program into training modules and realigning class delivery times will improve the availability of existing coursework. The college will assist employees of local pork production
business and increase the likelihood of students completing the Associate in Applied Science degree (AAS) in Swine Management. Project objectives to be accomplished include: a) assist local pork production businesses with employee training; b) improve employee knowledge, performance, productivity, and longevity; c) improve pork industry business professionalism and profitability; d) increase the colleges swine management program participation and utilization while enhancing program growth and service to the industry; e) prove to employees, management and shareholders the value of education and training to the business; and f) provide employees the opportunity to enter into a program leading to an AAS degree in Swine Management.
Project Methods
The Project Director and project Partners will determine the details to accomplish the goals and objectives of the project. The project plan will be monitored at regular Ag Staff meetings and presented for review to the JWCC Agricultural Advisory Council. The schedule for delivery of the training begins in August 2005 and follow two tracks; one track for entry level employees and the second for mid management employees. Entry level modules include a farrowing technician track and breeding technician track. This provides access for a minimum of eight employees from each Partner business in each track of entry level training. Farrowing Technician Training will begin with a fifteen week farrowing management training module. Students will meet for three hours each week. The steering committee will determine the appropriate late afternoon or evening timeframe for delivery, based on a survey of the applicable participants. Business Partner operational protocol will also be
submitted by the Partners to the Project Director for appropriate incorporation into the curriculum. A second training module emphasizing animal diseases and health will be offered utilizing the previously described protocol and process. During this timeline, the business Partners and Project Director will institute a survey of trainees to determine additional specific educational needs to offer as a special topic. This special topic will follow the second module. The breeding technician track will follow the aforementioned protocol and will be delayed to follow the initial farrowing technician training. Breeding technicians will initially receive a fifteen week training module in reproduction, genetics, selection and breeding. This topic will be followed by formal training in artificial insemination and then a final module of animal diseases and health. In January, mid level manager training modules will begin providing experience in personnel management and Spanish training. The
industry training Partner pork production business will benchmark performance, production and employee information at the start of this joint pilot project. At regular intervals, the Partners will provide the Project Director with data, information and analysis regarding the business performance evaluations, production, plus employee performance, productivity and employee turnover data for compilation and reporting in the annual and final evaluation. The project success indicator will be the businesses willingness to continue and expansion of employee training following completion of the pilot project. The College benefits from employee participation in formal training activity increasing program utilization. Employees benefit by completing an introductory process into the AAS Degree program in Swine Management at John Wood Community College.