AGRI Skills

Eligibility

This program was originally designed for women who are just beginning to take on leadership responsibilities and want to feel more confident in their roles. However, based on feedback, experienced leaders seeking to refine their leadership skills have also found the program beneficial. Below is a brief description of participants who are likely to gain the most from this program:

• Emerging Leaders: Women who are beginning to take on leadership responsibilities and want to build a strong foundation of leadership skills.
• Aspiring Leaders: Women who are not yet in formal leadership roles but are preparing for future opportunities in leadership positions within primary agriculture or industry associations.
• Women Facing Leadership Challenges: Individuals who feel uncertain or lack confidence when required to demonstrate leadership, such as managing teams, making decisions, resolving conflicts or leading projects.
• Women Returning to the Workforce: Women transitioning back into their careers after maternity leave or a career break, who want to gain confidence, develop leadership skills, and build a supportive professional network.
• Current Leaders Looking to Strengthen Skills: Women who are already in leadership roles but feel they need to enhance their ability to lead teams effectively, particularly in challenging situations, and who want to refine their skills in areas like emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, and inclusive leadership. 

Admission Requirements

Participants must be at least 18 years of age.  

A minimum of 2 years of experience working in the agriculture industry in Canada is required, either in the primary farm sector or industry association. This experience ensures that participants have a foundational understanding of the agricultural industry, allowing them to engage meaningfully with the course content and contribute to discussions.

A proficiency in English is required, meaning participants should be able to communicate effectively in both spoken and written English, comprehend course materials, and participate in discussions and activities within the program.

Tuition & Fees

Tuition

The cost of the program is $1,950.00 plus applicable taxes and includes all learning materials.  

For added flexibility, tuition can be paid in two equal installments, if preferred.

Some participants may also be eligible for provincial funding or scholarship opportunities. For more information on financial assistance, please refer to the details provided here (link).

Refund Policy

The full tuition fee will be reimbursed up to one week prior to the start of a course. The tuition fee less an administrative fee of $250.00 will be reimbursed prior to the start of the second session. No refunds will be granted after this point.  

Microcredential Certificate  

Participants will receive Certificate of Completion upon completing the course that issued by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC).

Microcredentials are designed to provide focused, specialized training in a particular area of expertise. They are recognized as evidence of knowledge and skills gained through short, competency-based learning.

To receive the certificate, participants must attend at least 70% of the live sessions. This attendance requirement ensures that participants are actively engaged and benefit from both the content and the interactive learning experience. The certificate serves as a valuable recognition of your commitment to professional development and can be shared with current or prospective employers to highlight your new skills in the agriculture and leadership. 

Instructor

Dr. Andrea Butler  

Andrea Butler is a consultant and co-founder of Perennial Talent. She has her Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology from the University of Windsor and over 10 years of experience developing and delivering talent management solutions including partnering with CAHRC on various Agri HR Initiatives, such as designing and delivering training workshops on topics including leadership skills and how to conduct an interview. She has extensive experience developing technical and non-technical competencies and advising clients on their use. She has developed over 100 technical competencies and more than a dozen National Occupational Standards. Andrea believes in the importance of helping clients to step up to the plate and run the bases. Outside of the office, Andrea loves to cheer for the Toronto Blue Jays. Go Jays Go!

The program will also feature a guest speaker, a prominent female leader in the agriculture industry, who will share insights and experiences with learners.  

Program Outline

Session 1: Introduction to Leadership
Session 2: Navigating Leadership Challenges for Women
Session 3: Communication & Influence
Session 4: Building and Maintaining Trust
Session 5: Emotional Intelligence
Session 6: Conflict Resolution
Session 7: Delegating & Planning
Session 8: Coaching for Success
Session 9: Inclusive Leadership & Psychological Safety
Session 10: Guest Speaker Session & Networking

HR 101 - An Overview of HR Management

HR 101 is for farm owners and managers who want to learn the best practices for recruiting, retaining, and managing their workers more effectively. Partner with CAHRC to create a customized solution, to be delivered in class or online to your members.

Delivered through six modules, HR 101 introduces the key human resources (HR) practices that ensure a healthy, engaged, and productive workforce. Downloadable tools and templates are also included in the e-learning course, and can be offered to your members at a reduced cost when you partner with CAHRC.

The course includes modules for:

• Human Resources Management Overview
• Human Resource Planning
• Human Resource Policies
• Find Skilled Workers
• Hire and Keep Skilled Workers
• Train and Develop Your Workers

Learn more about the HR 101 course

Train-the-Trainer: On-the-Job Reference Guide

These simple, practical tools are designed to help trainers, supervisors, and mentors teach new or inexperienced workers to acquire the skills they need as they "learn by doing." Formalize and standardize the approach to training on your farm, and ensure that your workers can do their jobs safely and efficiently. Originally adapted for Landscape Horticulturalists, Train-the-Trainer can be used to train employees quickly, safely, and efficiently with on-the-job training tools.

Human Resources Planning Workshop

This workshop for agricultural managers and owners focuses on human resources planning that supports business goals and strategic priorities. Participants learn the five steps in the planning process, including an overview of the main HR areas, workforce analysis, workforce requirements, strategy development and evaluation.

Supervisory Training Workshops

This practical, instructive, and interactive workshop series for agricultural supervisors provides tools to improve the workplace culture. Supervisors learn to make real, long-lasting and impactful changes that enhance employee morale and success for both domestic workers and temporary foreign workers, including SAWP workers.

Recruitment and Retention Workshops

This workshop is for agricultural business owners, managers, and supervisors. The Recruitment and Retention Workshop helps business owners, managers, and supervisors make crucial HR management decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and increase their understanding of the best approaches to recruitment and retention.

Human Resources Webinars

Help your members address their labour challenges and learn best practices for building and supporting the workforce they need to support their business goals. This three-part webinar series explores recruitment, selection, and hiring from an agricultural perspective. Each webinar is 30 minutes long and available on demand.

Contact us for more information.

A Comprehensive Curriculum for Future Agricultural Leaders

The AgriHR Management Curriculum & Instructor Guide includes 12 units that cover key HR topics and strategies from a Canadian agricultural perspective.

UNIT 1: Introduction to HR management and strategic HR. This unit provides an overview of the theoretical and practical skills required for the effective management of people in the workplace.

UNIT 2: Recruitment, selection, and hiring. This unit covers topics including recruitment and retention strategies and processes, duty to accommodate, interview techniques, and how to hire temporary foreign workers.

UNIT 3: Compensation and benefits. This unit covers topics including fair pay and employment standards, payroll deductions, setting competitive rates of pay, creating compensation and benefits packages. 

UNIT 4: Improving worker performance. This unit covers topics including legal obligations, perks and rewards, worker training, discipline and termination processes, and working with family members.

UNIT 5: Succession planning. This unit explores succession planning for small business, with a focus on family farms and planning for the succession of key roles in an organization. 

UNIT 6: Workforce planning. This unit explores key elements of organizational planning for small or family-run businesses, including setting goals, assessing labour needs, and analyzing the work environment.

UNIT 7: HR policies. This unit covers the development of policies and policy manuals that ensure safe, inclusive, productive, acceptable, and legally defensible behaviours in the agricultural workplace.

UNIT 8: Health and safety. This unit examines the issue of agricultural health and safety, and provides tools and information to help students support the highest safety standards in a farm environment. 

UNIT 9: Workplace wellness. This unit explores the business case for workplace wellness and strategies for meeting legal obligations and supporting work-life balance and well-being for domestic and international workers. 

UNIT 10: Diversity and inclusion. This unit looks at strategies for creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace where people of different genders, religions, nationalities, cultures, sexual orientations, languages, and abilities can feel comfortable, respected, and valued. 

UNIT 11: Leadership, values, and teamwork. This unit guides students to reflect on their own values, examine the values of companies and organizations in the industry, and explore the implications of values and leadership at work.

UNIT 12: Putting it all together. This unit reviews all the curriculum topics and shows how they come together to create a safe, attractive, inclusive, and productive workplace. Final exam included.