Do you remember way back to grade 9 and the first time you got to sign up for high school classes? So many decisions that ultimately could shape the career you end up with and shaping the rest of your life. At the age of 15 for most people you don’t realize at the time how truly overwhelming it is. Well I remember mine. Not being educated on what some of the classes were I just simply didn’t choose them. The one that I had my mind dead set against was green certificate. There was no way I was making signs to protect the environment and become a hippy. Not that I’m against helping the environment but I would never join a club. But it wasn’t until the school guidance councilor, knowing my family, asked me why I wasn’t taking it that I actually came to the understanding of what it actually is.
Green Certificate is an industry driven program available to students and adults through the Alberta
What makes this program so appealing for many high school students is that it provides trainees with opportunities to enter a variety of agriculture-related, structured learning pathways as a part of their high school program and to earn a credential leading to a career in agribusiness. Along with that this program can be done outside of school hours and over the summer so that it doesn’t interrupt with actual class time. Plus you earn 16 high school credits for completing the 3 oral tests and 400 hours of work. That may seem like a lot of hours but you can be getting paid for them and I completed two in less then 3 semesters.
Level I of the program provides trainees with more then the basic skills of working on or running a farm but does not overwhelm the trainee. This level involves a lot of the work to be done with the trainer but the program allows for a lot of hands on work to be done by the trainee. The benefits of this are that it looks great on a resume and can certainly help if you are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture. I have completed both the cow-calf and feedlot modules at this level and have enjoyed both of them, growing up and working on the farm anyways has earned me a relatively easy 32 credits already.
Level II of the program is referred to as the supervisor level as the trainee takes on the role of a supervisor making more decisions regarding the daily happenings on the farm. The trainee must be able to sufficiently work independently and be able to step into any position on the farm comfortably. This level calls for more responsibility as it includes directing daily routines, Assesses problems and judges the need for significant and potentially costly actions, ensures the business operational plans and protocols are carried out, this includes breeding, cropping or marketing for example, maintains operations and production of the physical plant, and supervises the maintenance and repair of equipment and facilities. This level essentially puts the trainee in charge as if they own the place. I am starting this level of the cow-calf module over the summer and am greatly looking forward to the challenges that it will present me.
This program has so much to offer that if you have the chance I highly recommend you take it. You will not regret it, even if you don’t like it as much as you thought you would its better to know now then to find out after you graduate from post secondary looking to get into agriculture. And the 16 credits certainly doesn’t hurt either. I guess it also goes to show that you can’t judge a course by its name or I wouldn’t have 32 of the credits that I do. So be sure and check it out.
Until next time,
Luke
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