CNA grows Agriculture Centre of Excellence
10/6/2003 2:49:29 PM
October 6, 2003, Carbonear, NL - College of the North Atlantic has made the Agricultural Training and Research Centre in Carbonear the newest addition to its 18 Centres of Excellence throughout the province.
The Agriculture Training and Research Centre is dedicated to supporting Newfoundland and Labrador in its endeavor to develop and diversify, realize opportunities, and maximize the potential for long term growth and sustainability of the farming community in the 21st century, says Blake Cryderman, Chair of Community, Corporate and International.
“This is an industry-driven training, research, and development centre,” he says. “It will focus exclusively on the agriculture sector needs for research and development and agriculture skills training, and includes a fully functional agrifood Secondary Processing Facility and an On-Farm Training component.”
In addition to its fully functional Secondary Processing Facility, other resources are available at the Carbonear campus including biology and chemistry labs that can be used for research and development. In addition, customized on-farm training is available where hands-on experience is used as a learning tool.
The first of many research projects is currently underway at the Agricultural Training and Research Centre in Carbonear. College of the North Atlantic recently secured funding through the Labour Market Development Agreement (Pan Provincial) to complete a comprehensive Needs Assessment by commodity for the agriculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project will be carried out in partnership with the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods and the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture.
The college recently hired Andrea Bourne, a Business Commerce graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland, to carry out the Needs Assessment and develop a provincial-based Agricultural Human Resource Development Plan that will address the training and education issues of the agriculture industry. Bourne will work closely with the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture to identify stakeholders in the industry.
Over the next three months a number of focus group sessions will be carried out in strategic locations across Newfoundland and Labrador. The purpose of these focus groups is to gain a better understanding of the training needs of persons involved in the agriculture industry.
The Human Resource Development Plan will address the training and education issues that are identified during the focus group sessions. College of the North Atlantic, in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, is dedicated to addressing the training needs of the agriculture community to ensure success for enhancing the growth and diversification of the industry in this province.
Courses and programs customized to meet client demand will be added to the college’s curriculum. The Agricultural Training and Research Centre, through partnership development, has the experience and capacity to meet the training and research needs of this vibrant and potentially expansive industry thus contributing to this province’s future economic development.
For more information on the Agricultural Training and Research Centre and its activities, contact Michelle Yetman, Community Relations Officer, Carbonear campus, College of the North Atlantic, at (709) 596-8957.
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Stephen Lee
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(709) 643-7929
or
Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
(709) 643-7928