INTRODUCTION

The Almond Board of California understands growers are increasingly struggling to find qualified workers to do the many necessary jobs at all levels of an orchard or processing operation. As the current workforce ages and people retire, the challenge of finding qualified workers only becomes more difficult. We are working with the Center for Land-Based Learning (CLBL) to help provide growers and processors opportunities to either develop the skills of current employees who have interest in and the potential to be promoted into higher-skilled jobs, or find and train high-quality applicants to fill those positions. 

Your participation in this brief survey will help us in our work with CLBL. 

The Center for Land-Based Learning is a non-profit organization focused on agricultural education. In 2017, CLBL launched a registered apprenticeship in agriculture to train farm and ranch managers that combines paid, on-the-job training with related coursework and can help build a skilled pipeline of workers to fill key positions. Commonly used in the building trades, this model is slowly emerging for agriculture. 

This survey should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!

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* 1. Do you own your own huller/sheller or processing facility? (check all that apply)

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* 2. Please use the following definitions in the context of this survey:
Management position = Farm or Ranch Manager, Supervisor
Mid-level position =  Foreman, Tractor driver, Crew leader, Harvest coordinator, Irrigation technician, etc. 

Are you concerned about being short on employees in management or mid-level positions due to retirement or expansion within the next five years? (check all that apply)

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* 3. Please list the job titles of the position(s) that you anticipate will need to be filled in either the production or processing side of your operation.

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* 4. Do you have employees that have the potential to fill mid- or management level vacancies or new positions if they gained additional necessary skills?

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* 5. To fill any mid-level or management positions that may open, what knowledge or skills would an individual need to learn or improve to successfully do the job? (Please select all that apply)

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* 6. Are there other factors that might be a barrier to current employees filling these roles, besides skills?

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* 7. What new skills or certifications would make other (non-management or mid-level) current employees more valuable to you? (check all that apply)

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* 8. In which county(ies) do you operate? Please list no more than 5. 

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* 9. Approximately how many acres of almonds do you own and/or manage?

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* 10. What other crops do you grow or process besides almonds, if any? (check all that apply)

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* 11. On average, how many people do you employ annually (not counting Farm Labor Contractors)?

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* 12. Would you be interested in utilizing an apprenticeship program to improve the knowledge and skills of current employees and/or recruit & train new hires to fill key positions in your operation? (please check all that apply)

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* 13. If you said Yes or Maybe, may we contact you after harvest to discuss the apprenticeship program and see if it might be a good fit for your operation? If so, please provide the following contact information:

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* 14. Please use this box for any additional information, questions, or comments you may have:

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