Students across Ontario will soon have greater access to training for careers in the dairy industry.
The Ontario government has announced that it will be investing over $300,000 to expand the two-year Dairy Herdsperson Apprenticeship program at the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus.
Beginning in 2024, the program will now offer a hybrid, distance education option for students who are not able to study in person full-time and for those who are already working on farms around the province.
Monte McNaughton, Ontario’s minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, said having the versatility of learning remotely but also getting hands-on experience is vital to getting more young people into the industry.
“We want the training to be as close to home as possible to ensure that we’re filling 3,700 jobs that are going unfilled in the agriculture industry across the province,” he said. “It’s really to ensure we’re setting people up for success and make the training really accessible.”
Student McKenna Morrison, who is currently enrolled in the program, said it provides students with practical training and knowledge about animal health, routine herd maintenance and nutrition, and operating farm equipment.
“You’re here a week and learning in class, and then you go back and you do those things for three weeks. So it really gives you time to practice what you’ve learned,” she said.
The program includes 480 hours of classroom training and more than 5,500 hours of on-farm training as part of a paid work placement.
The Dairy Herdsperson Apprenticeship program is being run in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus.
