Alliance Ag & Grain Creates Apprenticeship Program

Alliance Ag & Grain is pleased to announce the launch of an apprenticeship program through Kansas Farm Bureau’s (KFB) award-winning Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program (RKAP). “Alliance Ag & Grain is excited to partner with Kansas Farm Bureau in their Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program,” says Jeff Stockton, Alliance Ag & Grain vice president of business development. “For us, the labor challenge continues in small-town America and we feel this program will be a piece of the solution. KFB provides us with the format, educational support and agricultural advocacy we need to develop and incorporate this apprenticeship plan. We’re confident this on-the-job training program will help us develop skills and provide technical instruction to our workforce as we look to meet our future employment needs.”The program is designed to provide training and technical instruction to employees hired into specific operations positions. Apprentices will be recruited, interviewed, hired and employed by Alliance Ag. The company’s open apprenticeships for an agronomy operator in Lewis, a heavy truck driver in Haviland and a grain elevator operator in Wright can be viewed here.KFB will serve as the intermediary sponsor working with Alliance Ag and The Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship to assist in the administration of these apprenticeship opportunities. These apprenticeships will provide Alliance Ag with additional value proposition for attracting new employees and apprentices in these roles. Apprentices will receive mentorship, training and compensation while developing skills in a high-demand agricultural career path.RKAP is the first-ever registered apprenticeship program focused on agriculture and rural Kansas. With its broad charter, RKAP has the capability to bring this innovative education and employment opportunity to communities across the state. “Alliance Ag is an excellent partner because like KFB, they serve farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses,” says Joel Leftwich, KFB’s chief strategy officer. “KFB is excited to develop a program where Alliance Ag and its employees can grow alongside each other to support agriculture and rural Kansas.”

_ _ _If you are interested in partnering with Kansas Farm Bureau in an apprenticeship program, contact Joel Leftwich at [email protected] or visit www.kfb.org/RKAP.