Key Stakeholder Perceptions of the Michigan Food and Agricultural Sector Workforce Development System:

A Qualitative Study Using Grounded Theory

Laura BogardusClemson 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 SystemIntroduction

• 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 SystemLiterature 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 SystemMethod

• 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 SystemMethod

• 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 SystemMethod

• Core Concepts Identified1. Public perceptions of the industry 2. Increasing use of technology in work processes3. Traditional nature of industry 4. Links between education tiers, industry5. Domestic, seasonal, migrant farm worker issues

MI Food & Ag Workforce Development SystemMethod / Results

• Links between Core Concepts and Data3. 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 SystemMethod / 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 SystemImplications / 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 SystemImplications / Future Research

QUESTIONS?