Humber Polytechnic is offering a free, 16-week program for those looking to grow their careers in the vertical farming industry.
Connecting to Careers in Agricultural Technology within Vertical Farming is an upskilling program offered in collaboration with ACCES Employment. It's funded by Upskill Canada and the Government of Canada and is designed to equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed in the field of vertical farming, which involves various techniques for growing crops in a controlled environment.
Dave Smiderle is associate dean, Continuous Professional Learning with the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology (FAST). With the vertical farming market to grow with a compound annual growth rate of more than 30 per cent from 2023 to 2030, Smiderle said the program is addressing the sector's need for skilled workers.
It can help learners launch or advance their careers in agricultural technology and vertical farming as the industry-informed program includes technical training, futureproofing, mentoring, coaching, personal branding and support to help participants complete the training, build their employability and transition into employment.
"The goal of this program is to make it easier for people to get into this area and to grow the workforce in this space because we anticipate that the need for vertical farming is just going to increase, not decrease," said Smiderle.
Offering the program at no cost helps eliminate barriers to upskilling, said Smiderle. It's also allowing equity-seeking groups to continue their education and grow their careers.
One of the highlights of the program is that students will have opportunities for site visits at working vertical farms, including Waterwheel Farms that's just minutes away from North Campus. There are work-integrated learning opportunities at the farms as well where the students will be able to use what they've learned in class in real-world environments.
The program features synchronous online classes that are complemented by the site visits and experiential learning.
The free program launches on November 18 and there will be future cohorts as well.
Eve Montgomery is acting associate dean, Continuous Professional Learning with the Faculty of Social & Community Services (FSCS). Montgomery said FSCS has several programs that focus on building community capacity and working with marginalized communities and felt that it was an excellent fit to collaborate with FAST on this program.
"We're bringing expertise from two Faculties and that makes for a more well-rounded learning experience," said Montgomery.
Montgomery added the program isn't strictly for those who want to be farmers. It could be for a learner with a business background who wants to improve business development within vertical farming or those with an engineering background who hope to make processes more efficient.
Smiderle says the demand for vertical farming is increasing as climate change is making the weather more damaging and less predictable. As well, food insecurity is becoming a widespread issue as food bank usage spikes across the country due to inflation and the high cost of living.
He envisions a future where those trained in vertical farming can enter a community that is struggling and set up an indoor farm that will create jobs and grow food for the people who live there.
"We believe this can address some of the food insecurity happening within communities," he added.
Learners will earn five Humber micro-credentials and a shareable digital badge upon completion of the program.
Discover more information about this program by visiting ACCES Employment and the Connecting to Careers in Agricultural Technology within Vertical Farming website.
