Key Stakeholder Perceptions of the Michigan Food and Agricultural Sector Workforce Development System: A Qualitative Study Using Grounded Theory Laura Bogardus Clemson University August 13, 2014 Key Stakeholder Perceptions of the MI Food & Agricultural Sector Workforce Development System • • • • • Introduction Literature Review Method Results Implications / Future Research MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Introduction • Global Food Protection Institute, Battle Creek, MI • Clemson Comprehensive Examination Component • Grounded Theory, Qualitative Study – Preliminary – Part of a Larger Study MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Literature Review • About the Food & Agriculture Cluster in MI – – – – 2nd Strongest Industry Cluster: Food & Agriculture $91.4B Annual Economic Impact, 923,000 Jobs 2013-2015: 90,000 Food & Ag Jobs (10% increase) 47% Food Processing; 30% Farming; 22% Wholesale/Retail • No Coordinated System for Supplying Workers – Food Processing & Manufacturing; Farm Workers – Domestic, Seasonal, Migrant Workers – High School & Below; Tech Certificate (1 to 2 Yr deg); 4 Yr and up MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Method • Stakeholder Perceptions – Staffing & Placement, Employer Associations, Unions – Education, Government, Industry, Workers, Foundations • Research Plan Developed • Proposal Approved by Committee, IRB, GFPI • Research Plan Implementation MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Method • Grounded Theory – Exploratory, Iterative • Generative Questions – Your involvement? What’s working? What’s not? What issues need to be addressed? By whom? Why? – List of Organizations, Stakeholders • Associations, Unions, Staffing & Placement Agencies • 90 Prospective (28 Assoc; 20 Other; 34 Staffing; 8 Union) • 45 Contacts – Interview Protocol & Questions – Stakeholder Contact – Email & Phone • 30 Subject matter experts interviewed 10 Assoc; 5 Other; 12 Staffing; 3 Union) MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Method • Core Concepts Identified 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Public perceptions of the industry Increasing use of technology in work processes Traditional nature of industry Links between education tiers, industry Domestic, seasonal, migrant farm worker issues MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Method / Results • Links between Core Concepts and Data 3. Traditional Nature of Industry • Low use of Internet job postings, government work supports • Frustration with labor regulations • High use of local networking to find workers • Gender, race, age of farmers, owners 4. Links Between Education Tiers, Industry • ONET and SOC codes do not sync with Career Cluster curriculum • Enrollment up in higher ed 5. Domestic, Seasonal, Migrant Farm Worker Issues • Few staffing agencies • Fewer domestic workers and fewer migrant workers • Improvements in housing, coordinated efforts to recruit migrants MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Method / Results • Key Analytic Strategies – Coding, Memoing, Diagrams • New Observations, Revisions, More Data • Core Concept(s) Identified, Detailed • Report combined, sent to Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Implications / Future Research • Further research to validate this limited qualitative study • Study best practice examples / innovative solutions – – – – – MSU Agriculture Technology Inst. / FFA of Michigan Apprenticeship Development FFA / K-12 programs and Industry Industry Partnerships New methods for farm worker recruiting and onboarding • Reconcile ag industry data and jobs data • Develop job posting tool MI Food & Ag Workforce Development System Implications / Future Research QUESTIONS?