September 2019 Vol. 74 No. 9
Newsline
John Deere Launches Apprenticeship Program
John Deere said it is helping address the widespread shortage of service technicians, especially in rural areas, through a new Registered Apprenticeship Program it is making available to its dealers.
John Deere has received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor for the new program, which provides dealers with a formalized, on-the-job and technical training plan to help them develop more highly skilled employees.
Through participation in the apprenticeship program, dealers formally commit to developing additional talent in an earn-while-you-learn program. A participating apprentice benefits from structured, on-the-job training in partnership with an experienced mentor. As training progresses, apprentices are rewarded for new skills acquired.
“The new Registered Apprenticeship Program complements our existing John Deere TECH program,” said Grant Suhre, director, region 4 customer and product support for John Deere Ag & Turf. “In addition to the on-the-job training experience, an apprentice will receive technical instruction and be assigned a personal mentor as a part of the highly organized training structure.
Upon completion of the apprenticeship, he or she will receive a nationally recognized journeyworker certificate.”
According to Tim Worthington, manager, customer support for the John Deere Construction and Forestry Division, participating dealerships will see numerous benefits.
“Because of the earn-while-you-learn nature of the program, it will help dealers more easily recruit new employees and further develop a highly skilled workforce,” Worthington said. “This can improve a dealer’s productivity and profit potential as employee turnover costs are reduced and employees are retained longer. In addition, John Deere customers benefit from access to more highly skilled dealer personnel who are servicing or supporting their equipment.”
Comments